


Once Upon A Dream

by greeneggs101



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Background Relationships, Dream Eaters (Kingdom Hearts) - Freeform, Floriography, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2020-10-19 06:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 39,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20652761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101
Summary: Flower Shop owner Sora spends his days watering his plants and creating custom bouquets for customers wanting to send just the right message with his touch of Floriography magic. Life was a little boring, but perfect for Sora, who had enough excitement for a lifetime. If only that "excitement" wouldn't manifest in his dreams as terrible nightmares.Good thing professional Dream Weaver Riku just walked into his life.Modern Magical Floriography AU





	1. Lilacs

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to a new AU that took over my brain towards the beginning of summer and now won't let go. ^_^ It's very fun to write when I *should* be focusing on my bb piece. Oh well, enjoy a cute meet-cute story with a bit of plot. 
> 
> For those who don't know, Floriography (the language of flowers) is a form of cryptological communication through the meanings assigned to certain flowers in a bouquet. Most people know it as a relic from the "Victorian" age, but different "dictionaries" of floriography have been found throughout different time periods and cultures. (This also means that some flowers have more than one meaning, and can often have contrary meanings. So if you want to use flowers to send a "secret" message to someone, it's best if both parties are using the same flower dictionary. Otherwise... you might end up sending a message you didn't intend to.) 
> 
> Flower symbolism has been pretty near and dear to me since my early literature classes brought up the idea many years ago. For this fic, I've been working out of two flower dictionaries as well as several online sources which I'll list in the endnotes for interested parties. Most of the flower meanings will be explained in the fic, but for clarity, I'll list out the flowers and their meanings in the notes for each chapter as well.
> 
> Huge thank you to Fireborn (https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireborn) for the beta!

_ Ding! _ The little silver bell above the door chimed. 

“Welcome to Fancif— er, Fantastic Florists and Fancies! How can I help you this evening?” Sora felt his cheeks heat up. He always tripped over the name of the flower shop, and _he was the one who named it. _

“Is there a flower that says ‘I utterly loathe you’?”

Sora blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Er...I mean—“ The silver-haired man in front of Sora stammered, his rather cute face beginning to turn an adorable shade of red. As the color deepened, it reminded Sora a bit of the shade of the maroon gloxinias currently preening for his attention. 

“Are you okay?” Sora offered a smile. “I didn’t mean— er, I mean I didn’t take what you said in a bad way. It was just, uh, abrupt?”

The man coughed, brushing silver hair out of his face, revealing teal eyes. 

Sora swallowed around a suddenly dry throat. Those eyes were beautiful. There wasn’t a flower in nature that could match the color of them, Sora was sure of it. They weren’t really green, nor were they quite light blue. If anything, they reminded Sora of the sea that surrounded his island childhood home: a perfect greenish-blue that was so clear Sora could see the crabs on the seafloor. 

He wondered what he would be able to see in this stranger’s eyes. 

Then Sora’s rational side caught up with the romantic one and pulled it firmly back. This man was a customer first, and one that was still rather flushed and stammering. 

Which was also cute, but, no. Customer first. Gush about his cute face and gorgeous eyes _later_. 

The man ran a hand through his hair again nervously. “Yes, well. I didn’t mean that I loathe _you_, of course. I just…” he trailed off with a sigh. “Nevermind.” 

He turned to leave. 

“Don’t say that!” Sora protested, not wanting to lose the customer so quickly. “Er— Well, a bouquet of orange lilies and yellow carnations might do the trick, but, um, that’s kind of a really mean thing to send someone.” 

Teal eyes flashed back at him, the redness in his cheeks dissipating somewhat as a small smile overtook those features instead. The gloxinias tickled at Sora’s hand, and he hurriedly brushed them away. He’d water them later.

“I suppose it might be, but this person is rather irritating,” the man said, his small smile widening into a grin.

“Maybe a pot of petunia’s then?” Sora frowned. “But...they can also mean ‘your presence soothes me’ depending on the context. I’m guessing you don’t want to send mixed messages.” 

The man laughed. “Definitely not.”

Sora chuckled as well. The man had a contagious laugh. “Who are you trying to send such a message to? I’m sure we’ll be able to find something.” He held out his hand. “I’m Sora, professional Floriographist and— er, nevermind. Just a Floriographist.” 

“Riku,” he shook Sora’s hand. “Well, Sora just a Floriographist, what do you suggest sending to a brother who is just being an annoying jerk?” 

Sora laughed again. “Aren’t all brother’s annoying jerks? I thought that was in their job description somewhere.” “Trust me, this one thinks that’s his _only_ job,” Riku sighed and looked around the shop. “Honestly...I mostly just stepped in here to get away from him.” 

Sora felt his smile fall a bit. “Oh?” So...would that mean the man _ — Riku — _ would leave now?

“But I like the idea of getting him a pot of petunias.” 

Sora glanced back up into Riku’s eyes, finding that the smile had finally reached them. He felt his heart skip a beat, and the gloxinias were practically crawling up his arm now. 

“Huh?” Riku glanced down at the potted flowers in amusement. “Um...you've got a bit of a—”

“Yeah. I know.” Sora sighed but found that he couldn’t be mad at the little gloxinia plant. “They do that sometimes. Part of the floriography magic and all.” He reached out and patted the plant, wondering what had gotten it so worked up. The green foliage was straining to reach Sora’s wrist, while the trumpet-like flowers kissed at his tanned skin. Flowers usually only reacted like this in response to someone expressing the flower’s Floriography meaning. But that was ridiculous. 

“Love at first sight” was just a myth. 

Riku laughed and reached out, gently stroking his fingers along the plant’s bright green leaves. Like a pet moving from one source of affection to another, the flowers shifted, turning to practically nuzzle into Riku’s hand as well. 

Sora struggled to not feel jealous of a plant. 

“Anyway.” With the plant’s attention divided, Sora managed to untangle himself from the foliage. “Petunias was it? We can also stick in a few buttercups. They symbolize childishness, which I’m sure is all your brother is being.”

Riku huffed. “I wish.” He then offered Sora a grin again. “Sounds good! I— er...I can’t pick them up right now though. I actually have to get back to work and they have a strict policy about live plants in the building. Can I pick them up after work?”

“Of course!” Sora grinned. “If you leave your name and number, I can even call you if you forget or haven’t picked them up by closing.”_ Not that I have any other reasons for wanting your number... _

“Er well...” Riku’s cheeks reddened again. “I actually work overnight. Can I pick them up tomorrow?”

“Uh...sure?” What kind of job works overnight? “Tomorrow then?”

“Perfect.” Riku reached into his pocket, pulling out a thin card. “Here’s my business card. My gummi number is the second one.” He passed it over, the iridescent finish on it catching the afternoon light. 

Sora nodded, waving as Riku turned to head towards the door. “Sounds like a deal. I look forward to it!” He felt his cheeks heat up. _ Was that too forward? It was, wasn’t it?! _

Riku didn’t seem to notice when he turned back to return the wave. Then he was out the door. 

Sora let out what was definitely not a wistful sigh, no matter what the sweet peas on the counter thought. He was pretty sure the roses were laughing at him. Flowers were such gossips. 

Instead, he turned his attention to the card in his hand. The iridescence gave it a sort of oil slick appearance, a bright rainbow of colors against a black background. The text still stood out clearly though: 

_ Riku: Dream Weaver. Special Cases Division. Morpheus Inc. _

A Dream Weaver? Sora supposed that would explain the overnight job. He heard they pretty much worked all night and slept during the day. 

_ It’s a wonder I saw him at all, _ Sora mused, _ I usually close the shop at sunset. He must have had an early start this afternoon. _

Sora carefully copied down Riku’s information down onto the flower order form, noting the petunia’s and buttercups Riku wanted for his brother. He also put the card itself into his book of contacts. He hesitated for just a moment before pulling the card back out and adding the gummi number to his own gummiphone, just in case. Even if the man just wanted some flowers to tease his brother with, Sora was always willing to make new friends. 

And if his potential new friend happened to be nice to look at, well, there was nothing wrong with that either.  


—— 

“So what’s got you so happy?”

Sora looked away from the ferns he was watering to look at his brother. “Huh? I’m not happier than usual. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The lilies in your window say otherwise.” Ventus pointed at the yellow flowers in the bucket by the window. They were facing away from the evening light and seemed to follow Sora’s movements around the shop. 

Sora let out a quiet groan, wishing he had never explained his new profession to his siblings quite so well. The yellow lilies were preening a bit, responding to his own emotions. 

Ventus laughed. “You know, if you wanted to keep your emotions to yourself, you should have probably gone into something other than Floriography.”

“Yeah yeah, like your winds don’t do the same to you?” Sora huffed. And indeed there was a light breeze drifting throughout the room, ruffling the foliage and brushing against the delicate petals of a peony. There wasn’t a single window open in the shop right now as Sora was closing up, but the winds always seemed to cling to Ventus, like animals eager for attention. They always had, even when they were little. Just as the shadows clung to Vanitas, and the light to Roxas, Sora had his plants. 

“Hmm, true. I guess none of us are really ever gonna be able to conceal our emotions completely. Especially Vanitas. His tend to literally run amok.”

“He’s gotten better at control though,” Sora argued, and Ven shrugged in agreement. “Anyway...it’s nothing. The flowers I mean. Just had a really nice customer at the end of the day.” 

“Oh?” Ven leaned against the counter, releasing a more humid breeze to dance and twirl around the collection of air plants Sora kept. They didn’t really mean anything to a Floriographist, but they were simple to care for and were a popular gift item. 

Sora nodded absently. “Yeah. He was looking for something for his brother. I managed to talk him out of sending something too mean. But he’s a Dream Weaver, so he had to go to work. I’ll see him tomorrow when he gets off his shift I guess.” 

“Dream Weaver, huh? Rare to see them in the daylight,” Ven noted. 

“I know,” Sora said, grinning. “Which is kind of a shame as this one is really cute— I mean nice. He was nice!!” He tried to cut himself off before he said what he really felt but judging by Ven’s grin, Sora had failed in that aspect. 

“‘Nice’ huh? Really, _ really _ nice?” Ven chuckled, grabbing another watering bucket to help Sora finish off the other plants. “Or just _ nice _?”

“He was sweet,” Sora admitted, more to the peonies than to Ventus. “And, yeah. He was cute too. Had silver hair and these...amazing eyes. They were, like, teal. I have never seen a color like them outside of artificially dyed flowers.” 

He stuck out his tongue a bit at that last part. There was nothing wrong with artificially dyed flowers exactly, but they always felt a little fake somehow, and they never reacted well to his magic. He only got them in when requested. 

“Sounds like someone has a crush,” Ven’s laughter would have been contagious if Sora wasn’t too busy blushing. “I can’t wait to tell Vani and Roxas.”

“Don’t!” His face felt like it was on fire. “Please? I can handle you teasing me, but if those two teamed up I—” 

It would be horrible. Vanitas and Roxas rarely got along, unless it was to team up to tease him or Ven. 

“Haha, alright. I’ll keep it a secret for now. But you know how Vani is. He’ll find out one way or another eventually.”

“Yeah...I know.” There was no way of knowing if his small crush on the Riku would go anywhere anyway. He wasn’t an oracle like Kairi and she had already vowed to never reveal his future to him. Not after last time...

“Sora?” Gentle hands shook the brunet out of those thoughts. “Hey man, stay with me.” 

Sora shook his head, blinking away the tears that had started to form. “Sorry...I just—” 

“I know.” Ven grinned, then took the watering can from Sora’s grip. “I think you’ve got all the flowers tonight. All locked up?”

Sora clenched his now empty hand. “Yeah. Just gotta lock the front door.” He dug in his pocket for his shop key, holding it up. 

“Great!” Ven wrapped an arm around Sora’s shoulders. “Dinner then? Vani’s sorry that he couldn’t join us, but he’s working for some big-name client to break a curse on a family heirloom, so it’s just us and Roxas tonight. So...black bean burgers and sea salt ice cream?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah, sure.” 

Ven squeezed his shoulders one more time and pulled away. “You okay?” he asked. “You’ve been quiet lately.”

“Yeah, I—” Sora cut himself off with a yawn “Well, I haven’t been getting much sleep. The stress I think.”

Ven frowned. “Stress...or nightmares?”

Sora quickly shook his head. “Nah, of course not! What would I have nightmares about? I mean, outside of the usual ones. Like opening up the shop but forgetting to put on pants.”

Ven looked less than convinced. “You would tell us, right? If the nightmares got worse. If they were about—”

“Yeah, I would,” Sora quickly cut in, not really wanting to discuss it right now. Talking about it really would cause nightmares. He tried for a grin. “But it’s fine. Like I said. It’s just stress. I can handle that on my own.”

Finally, Ven nodded. “Okay. But let us know if that changes.” He swung his arms around to the back of his head. “Of course...maybe your new cute Dream Weaver friend can help out—”

“Shut up, he’s just a customer!” Sora shouted, his face heating right back up at the mention of Riku. “He’s just— I mean— I would like to be friends, but—”

“Maybe offer some periwinkle first?” Ven cut in with a chuckle. “That’s it right? Periwinkle?”

“Yeah...friendship.” Despite the blush that still stained his face, Sora found himself smiling. He guessed he could offer a small tussie-mussie to test the waters. 

“Great!” Ven laughed. “Now, no more talking about cute Dream Weavers tonight. We gotta focus on our game plan on how we’re gonna tease Roxas about his crush on my coworker.” 

Sora chuckled. “It’s not a crush. You just want to take his attention off of your own crush on your other coworkers.” 

“It’s not a crush!” Ven protested. “It’s just a really close friendship. Seriously, it’s like we’ve been—”

“Been friends forever,” Sora finished with a grin. “I will admit. ‘Terra, Aqua, and Ventus’ does roll off the tongue easily. Maybe, in another life, you were best friends.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Ven laughed. “But you have to admit that Lea’s a little—”

“Spark-happy?” Sora chuckled. “Roxas mentioned something about Lea actually being a giant dork when you got to know him.” 

Out of his three brothers, Roxas would always confide in Sora the most. But even Sora didn’t know what their youngest brother saw in the fire mage, though he would support Roxas in wherever his heart led. 

“Maybe you just haven’t reached Lea’s dork stage yet, Ven,” Sora suggested. 

“Hmm...maybe.”

Sora was so lost in thought that he almost didn’t hear the shop door chime. 

“I know that look,” another voice said. “What are you guys talking about?” Roxas walked up to them, crossing his arms with a frown. 

“You of course,” Ven grinned, rubbing Roxas’s hair. “No one else is nearly as interesting right now.”

“Haha,” Roxas laughed drily. “Vanitas texted and said he might be by later for the movie, but the curse is taking longer to break than he thought.” 

“They’re always harder to break,” Sora said. “But Vanitas says that they’re the easiest to cast.” 

“It’s easier to say a bad thing than it is to take it back,” Ven noted. “C’mon. We can at least pick him up a meal and save it for him.” 

“Do we have to?” Roxas huffed. “Let him pick up his own food.” 

Sora laughed even as Ven began to lecture Roxas about the importance of family or something. He always enjoyed the time he spent with his brothers. Despite the diverging paths that life had taken them, they always came back together for dinner and a movie at least once a week. 

They stopped by their favorite burger shack for burgers and fries and then made their way to the apartment Ven shared with Vanitas. They put Vanitas’s food in the fridge before settling down to start the movie, some new release that Ven picked out. 

Sora hadn’t been paying much attention when Ven described the movie, too busy perfecting the tomato/avocado/black bean burger ratio on his bun, so when he heard the main character mention the troubles that plagued him in his_ Dream Weaving _profession, Sora turned to glare at Ven. His brother chuckled and shrugged. 

Roxas looked between them in confusion before he rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. The lights in the room except for the TV immediately flew into his hand and he stuffed them into his pocket for later use. 

Despite his irritation at Ven for picking a movie specifically to remind him of his mysterious customer, Sora still found himself getting drawn into the plot. He wondered if Riku’s job was like the movies. Probably not, but it was likely more adventurous than watering plants and arguing with customers over arrangements. Riku would never be interested in something as boring (yet comfortable) as that. 

And there was no way he would be interested in Sora romantically if he knew of the brunet’s own misadventures. 

Vanitas arrived about halfway through the movie, a plethora of creatures in tow. Apparently, the meeting with the client hadn’t gone well if the number of Floods and Red Hot Chilis indicated anything. 

“Uh...did you at least get the curse lifted?” Ven asked, taking a squirmy Flood into his arms and petting it. The old mage the boys had seen when they were younger had named the monsters Vanitas created as Unversed. Fledgling emotions that were extensions of Vanitas’s self. The creatures generally went away on their own, but Ven, Roxas, and Sora found that they could speed up the process through gentle interactions with the creatures. 

Sora took one of the Red Hot Chilis in his arms as well, feeling the heat from the steam just under the lid. As he patted it gently, the lid stopped popping off as often and it seemed to calm down a bit. 

“It wasn’t a fucking curse at all!” Vanitas huffed. “It was a spell. The _good _kind. I’m no good with _good _spells. He just wasted my fucking time telling me it was a curse to prevent him from having kids! It wasn’t. It was a birth control spell his grandmother placed on the ring! Dude just had to stop wearing it.” 

Another Flood popped out of Vanitas’s shadow and started to scramble around the kitchen before Roxas caught it. 

“Oh well...that sucks,” Ven acknowledged, snatching up another Flood. “Why don’t you eat something? I’m sure you’re just hungry more than angry.” 

“It better not be black bean burgers.” Vanitas’s voice was deadly, but Ven remained unphased. 

“You can’t have everything you want. Just shut up and eat.” 

Vanitas glared but grabbed the food out of the fridge and did so, not even bothering to reheat it in the microwave. As he ate, several of the floods and the Red Hot Chili in Sora’s arms disappeared into puffs of black smoke. 

“You’re always cranky when you’re hungry,” Roxas huffed, taking a seat next to Vanitas and stealing a cold fry. 

“Like you don’t cause entire light shows when you’re pissed?” Vanitas muttered, crouching over his food to prevent more thievery. “Did you guys start the movie already?"

“You were late,” Roxas complained, managing to sneak another fry. “We couldn’t wait all night for you. Besides, it’s just some movie about stupid Dream Weavers.”

“Dream Weavers aren’t stupid!” Sora protested. Two sets of blue eyes and one set of gold turned towards him, and he felt his face heat up. “I mean...They have a job to do, and sometimes it dangerous against those nightmares and—”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Roxas concluded, stealing Vanitas’s last fry and standing up, walking back over to the couch. “I just mean the way they’re presenting it in this movie. It just looks stupid.”

“Strange of you to get all defensive though...” Vanitas noted, crumpling the empty food wrappers and tossing them into the open trash bin. He missed and let out another irritated grumble as he stood to finish throwing the trash into the bin. 

“Uhhh...well, I just— you know. I find it fascinating? A bit?”

“Who’d you meet?” Vanitas prodded.

Roxas immediately turned on the couch to stare at Sora. “You met a Dream Weaver?”

“What? No, I— Well, yes, but—”

“Was he cute?” Vanitas smirked, knowing he hit the nail on the head. Sora almost hated that his brothers could always read his every emotion. Especially Vanitas, who was so attuned to his own. 

“I, uh, well—” Sora stammered. He and his big mouth. Why did he have to go and say something?

Vanitas turned to Ven who was chuckling. “I know he would have told you. Was he cute?”

Ven chuckled for a moment longer before grinning. “Sora said he had amazing eyes.”

“Ven!!” Sora protested. “You promised!”

“I said that Vanitas had his ways of finding out,” Ven pointed out. “But you kinda gave that one away on your own.”

“So Mr. Amazing Eyes is a Dream Weaver?” Roxas smirked. “Anything else about Mr. Amazing Eyes?”

“I--er--” Sora gulped, trying to reign in his racing heart. “He’s just a friend. Not even that-- a customer really! That’s it. He just...he was cute...and sweet.” Sora remembered that shy smile from earlier. The way the blush had highlighted his pretty face. A laugh that lit up the whole room. 

Suddenly he felt Vanitas’s strong arms wrap around him and his brother’s face was buried in his shoulder. 

“Don’t let him hurt you. But if he does, I’ll kill him.” 

Sora laughed nervously, patting his brother’s back. “I’m sure there won’t be a need. But thank you.” 

Thankfully, that was the end of the good-natured ribbing. It was surprising for Vanitas to give up on a target so easily, but Sora was grateful nonetheless. By the time they finished the movie, it was long past time for Sora to head home. Ven and Vanitas both insisted that he stay, bringing up a recent string of Nightmare attacks around the city, but Sora couldn’t. He had to take care of the flowers at the shop first thing in the morning. 

And then there was the other thing. The slight lie he had told Ven. It wasn't that he didn’t want their help to face his nightmares, but he knew his brothers had their own demons that came out at night. No reason to bring up his own. 

Besides, the walk back was pleasant at night. Perfect for clearing his head. The streets were relatively safe from human criminals, thanks to the Radiant Garden Police force lead by Sora’s friend, Leon. And the Dream Weavers protected the residents from Nightmare monster attacks. Honestly, the worst that could attack Sora would be a stray Heartless or two. 

And Sora had proven himself more than a match for those. 

As he put his key into the lock of the flower shop, there was a sudden screech right by his ear. Sora flinched, summoning his keyblade on instinct. The blade answered his call, as usual, the handle fitting perfectly into his hand, a weight that was both familiar and strangely foreign.

If felt odd now. He hadn’t summoned it on purpose in ages. Though lately, he did find it resting in his hand when he woke up after a particularly bad nightmare.

Either way, he held it out, ready for whatever it was that had startled him. 

Suddenly, something colorful caught his eye. Turning, he saw an unusually colored bat-like creature, its fur an unnatural neon pink and orange. 

A Dream Eater Spirit? 

Sora’s keyblade dematerialized as quickly as he had summoned it. 

Dream Eaters were harmless to humans, they only ate Nightmares. They were almost as rare to see as Dream Weavers themselves. Sora had heard that the bright, colorful creatures were inventions of the Dream Weavers, often serving as partners or teammates in their work. 

“Hey there, little guy,” Sora held out a hand gently. “Are you lost? Where’s your Dream Weaver?”

The bat screeched, flapping its wings to fly closer and land on Sora’s hand. It hesitated for a moment before flipping over to hang off of the tanned fingers instead. Though it looked big, it’s weight was practically nonexistent. 

“Oh, uh...” Sora paused, not sure what to do. He didn’t want to just take the creature inside. What if its Dream Weaver was looking for it?

The bat didn’t look like it was gonna move though, curling its wings around its small fluffy body and staring up at Sora with strange pink eyes, as if daring the brunet to make it move. 

“I— Well...alright then.” He could leave the window open in his room at least, in case his new friend wanted to leave.

Sora opened the door to the shop, closing it as soon as he entered and locking it again. It was a little more difficult to do with only one hand but he managed. Then he began to climb the stairs to the apartment above the flower shop. “Well, here we are, little guy. Home sweet home....” 

The bat blinked a bit and looked around. Letting out a screech, he unfurled himself and dropped down from Sora’s fingers to fly up to the ceiling fan in the small living room. 

“You can hang out there for a bit. I’ll even leave the lights off so you’re comfortable.” Sora was fairly sure that bats saw better at night...or maybe that was just because of echolocation. And he had _no _idea if any of that applied to Dream Eater bats. 

All the same, Sora was so used to his apartment he didn’t need the lights on. He navigated around the couch and into the kitchen, quickly watering the plants he had in the window. The white heather practically glowed in the moonlight, while the young yellow sunflowers were already moving their flower heads eastward for another day of following the sun. He would have to transplant them soon to a bigger pot, but they would last another week or so. 

When he turned around, his new friend was gone from his perch on the ceiling fan. Frowning, Sora looked around surprised that a small bat with neon-colored fur would be so hard to find. Finally, he heard a soft crooning coming from his bedroom. Stumbling down the hallway in the dark, Sora pushed his room door open. 

There, relaxing in a bed of potted poppies atop his dresser, was his new friend. “Figures you would be there. How’d you get through the door? It was closed.”

The bat let out another screech, but Sora supposed that was the only answer he was gonna get. Letting out a sigh, the brunet crossed over to the window and opened the curtains. The moonlight filtered in, and the Dream Eater seemed to glow even brighter. Sora pushed the window open. “There. If you need to leave before sunrise. The exit is here. Though...I have a feeling that walls wouldn’t exactly stop you.”

The bat screeched again and seemed to stretch out into the poppies. Sora reached a hand out to adjust the small statue of an oak tree Vanitas had given him for the holidays last year. It wasn’t very big, but it did have one metal branch that reached out just so. Sora maneuvered it until the branch was hovering over the poppies. “Here you go. I thought bats liked sleeping upside down, but...I guess if you’re comfortable.”

The bat was already asleep. Gently, Sora ran one hand down its tiny fuzzy body, then barely brushed against a leathering wing. The creature was so soft, like touching the petals of a chrysanthemum or the delicate greenery of a fern. “Goodnight.”

Then he stripped down to his boxers and crawled into bed, curling up tightly around the pillow. 

_ I won’t dream. I won't have a nightmare. _

He wouldn't want to burden his new friend with the screaming or crying. 

He told Ven it was getting better. It wasn’t the first time he had lied to his brothers.

_ I won't dream. I will not have a nightmare. _

He repeated the words to himself over and over until they just started to ring true. Then he fell asleep. 

The nightmares came for him anyway...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower meanings:_  
Lilacs - First emotions of love  
Maroon Gloxinias - Love at first sight  
Orange Lilies - Hatred, disdain, pride  
Yellow Carnations - disdain  
Petunias - Resentment _or_ "You're presence soothes me" depending on the dictionary  
Buttercups - Childishness  
Ferns - Fascination   
Yellow Lilies - Happiness  
Periwinkle - Beginnings of Friendship  
Heather - Solitude/Good Luck  
Sunflowers - Loyalty  
Poppies - Fantasy and Sleep  
Oak - Bravery/Valor


	2. Purple Violets

_ Ding! _

“Hi, welcome to Fanc—er Fab... Wait...” Sora turned away from the door, stifling his yawn with the back of his hand. “Oh man, sorry. Welcome to Fantastic Florists and Fancies. How can I help you?”

“Damn, Sor. No need to be so formal,” a familiar voice called out. “It’s just me. Picking up Little Chef’s order.” 

“Oh! Hey, Hayner!” Sora grinned and waved at his friend. “Hang on, I’ve been keeping them in the back. The basil was getting rowdy again.” 

He stepped into the back room where several potted plants were waiting. “Now, guys. I’ve told you, Little Chef is really nice and only uses what he needs to. He’ll not harm you at all. Okay?” 

The basil leaves twitched a bit while the rosemary almost seemed to wilt. Sora let out a sigh. “It’s gonna be okay. I visit the bistro all the time. I’ll come to check up on you, okay?” Potted plants tended to be the hardest to part with, but he picked them up anyway and headed back into the shop. 

Hayner was observing the orange lilies in the window, and Sora couldn’t help but chuckle. “Still wondering what that bouquet Seifer sent you for graduation meant? You know I can—”

“No way! I’ll figure it out!” Hayner thumped his chest. “The orange lilies mean dislike right? That part was easy. It’s the little blue flowers that I can’t quite—” He cut himself off with a groan. “Never mind. I’m probably overthinking it, right?”

Sora laughed and shrugged. “Probably? I’m pretty sure he just sent it to mess with you a bit.” Seifer’s message pretty much translated to bitter but respected rivalry. Sora supposed that the older man mostly just meant that he looked forward to having Hayner as an opponent in professional struggle matches now that they had both completed college. 

“So what’s new with you?” Hayner asked, taking the box with herbs from Sora’s arms. 

Shrugging, Sora moved behind the counter to ring out the order. “Nothing much. Had a Dream Eater follow me home last night.”

Hayner huffed, “Oh sure. Mister ‘nothing much’ had one of the rarest magical creatures ever just happen to follow him home. Another  _ ordinary _ day for him.”

Sora laughed, “C’mon, Hayner. It really wasn’t that big of a deal. It was gone by this morning.” 

“Uh, huh...” Hayner raised an eyebrow, setting the herbs back on the counter. “Is that why the sweet pea and those little purple flowers, er, larkspur, right? They’re kinda... wilting right now.”

“Are they?!” Sora turned, and sure enough, the leaves of the sweet pea flowers were a little droopy and the larkspur stalks were nearly doubled over. “Dammit. I thought I—” 

He sighed and went over to the plants, sending out a magical wave of apology for letting his disappointment affect them. 

“Sweet peas mean...uh... Wistfulness, right? That’s what Olette said when she got some from your Oracle friend. What does the larkspur mean?”

Sora let out a sigh, picking up the bucket of flowers to put them in the sun. They should be okay after an hour or two, as long as he kept a check on his emotions. Behind him, he heard Hayner pick up the second bucket. “They mean lightness... or fickleness. It depends on the context.”

Master Persephone had warned him that, in the end, it was the flowers that decided their destiny. All Sora could do was guide them and care for them. And he liked that. He wasn’t in charge of anything, he only supported. 

It was a nice change of pace from his keyblade training days. 

Hayner let out a long sigh, distracting Sora from his thoughts. “That’s a confusing message. So... what’s got you down? It can’t just be the dream eater.”

“I—er...” Sora let out another sigh and the sweet peas shuddered. “It’s just this guy I met yesterday. He came to the shop and asked for some flowers that he was gonna pick up early this morning. He was kind of sweet but—”

“But he hasn’t picked up the flowers yet?” Hayner guessed. “Well... did you get his number? I mean, maybe he just forgot.”

Sora swallowed around his dry throat. “Yeah, probably. I mean... we were mostly just joking around and he said that he hadn’t meant to come into the shop. What if he didn’t even mean to pick up the flowers at all and just said that as a way to leave or something and—” He stopped when Hayner poked his chest. 

“Hey, either way, it’s rude to order something and not pick it up. You still put in the time and effort to make it and you didn’t make it wrong.” Hayner crossed his arms. “Calling him would at least remind him that he did ask for something. Like I said: he may have just forgotten.”

“I—er—yeah.” Sora nodded and walked back to the counter. “You’re right. He was heading into work when he asked for them.”

“Exactly.” Hayner nodded, following Sora back to the counter. 

Sora pulled out the card Riku had given him yesterday, the rainbow overlay now catching the morning light. 

“Woah, that’s a fancy card,” Hayner said, leaning over to try and read it. “A Dream Weaver?”

“Yeah.” Sora nodded, reading the numbers carefully as he typed them into the shop phone. He didn’t mind that Hayner hovered at the counter while the other end rang. Months of hanging with Roxas while Sora was recovering from the  _ incident _ inevitably meant hanging with Roxas’s friend Hayner, so Sora had gotten used to the other’s nosiness. 

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the other line picked up. “Hello?”

The voice sounded right. “Hi! This is Fantastic Florists and Fancies calling about your order? The flowers are still here and waiting for pick up if you are still—"

“Why the hell would I want flowers?” 

“I—uh—er—” Sora stammered, his practiced speech falling apart. “You—yesterday—”

“What the hell are you talking—”

“Hey! What did I say about you answering my phone!” Another voice called through the line. 

Sora blinked in confusion and glanced over at Hayner to make sure he wasn’t hearing things but the other man shrugged as well. The other voice that cut in sounded just like the one Sora was talking to. 

“You were busy!” the first voice shouted back. Then there were the sounds of a scuffle over the line. “What the hell do you want flowers for anyway?”

“None of your business!” The second voice shouted back, and he seemed victorious in his struggle as his voice suddenly came over the line. “Hello? This is Riku.”

Sora’s mind went blank, completely unprepared for this order of events. “Uh... I— um—” 

Hayner poked him helpfully, mouthing, “I’m Sora—”

“Hello?” Riku asked again. 

“I’m Sora!” The words burst out a bit louder than he intended. “Er. I mean. This is Sora. From the flower shop? Er... Your flowers—”

“Right!” Riku said, then chuckled. “I remember. Sorry. I got held up at work this morning. Will you still be there at lunchtime?”

“Yes!” Sora affirmed, his whole body feeling a little hot. “Yes, at lunch. I’ll be here.”

Riku’s laugh sounded nice over the phone line. “Can I bring you anything? For holding my flowers for so long—”

“I still can’t believe you got flowers...” The other Riku voice grumbled. 

“Or for dealing with my brother,” Riku sighed, though Sora got the sense it was directed at the other Riku voice more than at him. 

“No, no,” Sora reassured him, relieved that the grumpier voice earlier had just been Riku’s brother. Maybe the flowers would brighten his day? “I was just—”

“He’ll take a sea salt ice cream!” Hayner shouted into the phone. “Or a Fabracadabra! He’s really not picky!”

“Hayner!” Sora leaned away, embarrassed. 

“Er...” Now Riku sounded a bit flustered, and Sora panicked. 

“I’ll be here at lunch with the flowers! You don’t have to bring anything! Well, except your wallet maybe? To pay. I— er—” Sora let out a sigh. “See you soon?” He hung up before Riku could say anything back and Sora could get embarrassed again. 

“Hey, you could have gotten free ice cream out of it,” Hayner huffed. “Or maybe even a date. Just trying to help a bro out.”

Sora shook his head. “He’s just picking up some flowers.” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m sure.” Hayner offered a grin. “Good luck! I’ve got to get these back to Little Chef. Say goodbye plants!” 

Sora chuckled and waved to the potted plants. They didn’t wave back, of course, but they did shudder a little bit as their own little farewell. 

Then he was left alone in the shop again. 

His offering of cup-and-saucer cobaea flowers all clamored for attention at once, which set off the lilies in the front window. Soon, Sora felt every flower in the shop looking at him and he let out a sigh. 

Well, he was never totally alone. 

\---

“Um... Sora, right?”

Sora glanced up, taking his eyes off his sandwich. He was met with those pretty teal eyes again and his mouth widened into what had to be a ridiculous grin. “Yeah! Riku?”

Riku’s grin was soft and pretty when he nodded. “Yeah. That’s right.” 

Sora grinned, “Hang on, I’ll get your flowers!” He ran to the back and pulled out the small pail. The buttercups and petunias he had planted as soon as Riku had left the previous day were practically vibrating with their eagerness to go to a new home. “Here. Have you or your brother ever cared for a Floriography bundle before?” 

Riku frowned and shook his head, so Sora pulled out one of his care cards that he kept by the register. 

“They’re pretty easy to care for. The magic flowing through them makes it so you just have to water them whenever the soil is dry. But they’ll really thrive as long as they feel connected to their Floriography meaning. So... I guess as long as your brother keeps acting like your brother?” 

He offered a grin, his heart skipping a beat when Riku matched it with one of his own. He knew without looking that the Peonies were probably going nuts. 

“Great,” Riku said, reaching out to take the pot. 

Their fingers touch and it was like a spark of electricity that tingled down Sora’s spine. 

It looked like Riku felt it too, as a cute blush highlighted his cheeks and he looked away. 

“Sorry... Static electricity.” 

“Yeah...” Sora murmured, then drew his hand away. Right. Just static. 

“What the hell is taking you so long? I wanna go home.”

Sora blinked at the sudden voice— Riku’s voice— but it didn’t come from Riku himself. Instead just off to the side. 

Where another Riku stood?

“Huh?”

The Riku in front of him let out a deep sigh before taking the potted flowers off the counter and practically shoving them at the other man. “Here. These are for you. Take them and shut up. You know your own way home.” 

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with flowers?” 

Oh. This must be Riku’s brother. He glared at the offending plants. For their part, the petunias and buttercups preened anyway, so Sora knew he had made the right decision. Now that he looked closer he saw some subtle differences. This other Riku might have been a little shorter. And his hair was slightly longer, brushing the tops of his shoulders. 

Riku let out a deep sigh. “Just, go away for a minute. I’ll be right there.” 

The other Riku huffed and then turned, stomping out of the shop. 

Sora still blinked in shock. “So, when you said brother... you meant—”

“Twin brother. That’s Rikuto” Riku finished. “He’s a whole three minutes younger but it might as well be three years.” 

Sora grinned, then chuckled, trying to hide it behind his hand but failing. “I take it that’s who was on the phone earlier too?”

With another blush, Riku nodded. “Yeah. He’s just... Argh. I dunno why Yen Sid makes us work together. I swear it’s punishment for something Rikuto did.” 

“He’s just being a younger brother, I’m sure.”

“You’ve got experience?” Riku asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow. 

“More than you, maybe.” Sora grinned. “I’ve got three.” 

“Younger brothers?” Riku sounded shocked. 

Sora laughed again. “Well...technically one is older, but not by much. I’m part of a set of quadruplets.” 

Riku blinked a few times as if the math wasn’t quite adding up in his head. “Quadru—four babies? Your mom had four babies at once?!” 

“Yeah.” 

“All boys?!”

“Yep!” Sora couldn’t help the laugh. He was used to disbelief when he mentioned that he was part of a quadruplet set, but Riku just sounded so incredulous that it was funnier than usual. “It’s not that crazy. I have a friend who is the oldest of a set of triplets.” 

“Triplets?” Silver eyebrows furrowed in thought, creating a tiny wrinkle in between teal eyes. 

Sora just barely resisted calling the expression _ “cute” _ out loud. 

“Your friend... They wouldn’t happen to be related to Namine and Xion, right?”

Sora’s eyes widened. “Yeah! Those are Kairi’s sisters! You know them?”

“I work with them. Namine draws out dreams when needed, while Xion works in the recollections department. Sometimes we’re on the same projects.”

“Small world.” Sora’s grin widened. He was always surprised and pleased when the smallest threads existed between people. Every heart was connected in some way. 

_ “Beautiful...”  _

Sora’s grin faltered, and he blinked at the quiet word. “Eh? Did you—” 

Riku’s face had reddened again. “Er, I mean—the uh... those red flowers behind you. They uh... they’re very...beautiful.” 

Sora turned, finding that his Amaryllis had finally bloomed. “Oh! Right, of course. Funny you should say that. They actually do mean splendid beauty.” 

“Oh... They’re perfect then. For you. I mean. For you to—have?” Riku shook his head, his face now practically glowing, the red tinge trailing from his ears down to his collarbone and into his white shirt. 

Sora wondered how far that blush went. 

And then he felt his own face heat up at the thought and he struggled to change the subject. “I er... Thanks? I usually just grow them for bridal bouquets.” 

“You do flowers for weddings too?” 

“Yeah!” His face started to return to a normal temperature. He could talk about work. Work was easy. “You know the wrong flower can ruin a whole day. Traditionally Floriographists have always done the bridal bouquets, but I’ve branched out into doing the table arrangements too. It’s always interesting to meet all the people working to make the couple’s day special.”

“Yeah?” Riku actually sounded interested. “How can the wrong flower throw things off?”

“Well, you know how each bloom has its own meaning? And how flowers grown by Floriographists need to have an emotional connection in order to flourish? If a bride makes a wrong choice and puts a flower into her bouquet that means distrust or the groom’s boutonniere has a flower that indicates jealousy, and those flowers thrive during the whole ceremony… well… there have been wedding disasters over less. So Floriographists are called in both to stabilize the flowers' magical wellbeing and to try and put together the perfect bouquet. It’s…” Sora trailed off, blushing. He was rambling again. Riku wouldn’t be interested in all that. “It probably seems really boring to you.” 

“Not at all!” Riku protested, then broke into a grin, running a hand through silver hair. “Actually that sounds more complicated than my job. And more exciting. Sounds like you hold a lot of responsibility. I imagine emotions run high during those times, and the flowers would be hectic.”

“You have no idea.” Sora returned Riku’s smile with one of his own. “I had one bride who insisted on baby’s breath and daffodils in her bouquet and her groom broke down into tears when he saw that the blooms were practically glowing. They kinda represent love and new birth, so it was her way of telling him she was pregnant.” 

“Uh, well, that must have been fun,” Riku’s grin slipped into a frown of concern.    
  
“Yeah, well, thankfully, the story has a happy ending and the groom was pleased with the news. I've had couples before who weren’t so… enthused.” Sora couldn’t help the light chuckle at the thought. He always warned anyone who could get pregnant about the meaning of baby’s breath. 

Riku returned his smile and Sora noticed that his eyes crinkled at the corners when he did so, softening his entire face. 

_ Cute… _

Sora opened his mouth, about to ask Riku if he had plans later, but he was cut off by another shout. 

“Riku!” 

The angry twin was back, holding the door open and glaring at his brother. 

“Riku, your stupid—”

Something bright and colorful flew in over his head with a screech. 

“Oh! Hello again!” Sora raised a hand to greet his tiny bat friend. “I didn’t expect to see you in the daytime.” He giggled as the dream eater screeched, landing on his hand. 

“Is this where you’ve been hiding?” Riku asked. 

The bat turned with another screech and left Sora’s hand, landing on Riku’s shoulder instead and nuzzling his face under Riku’s chin. 

Sora laughed. “You know him then?”

“Momo’s my dream eater partner.” Riku raised a hand to pet the soft fur of the bat, who preened. “I sent him on a mission last night, and we were actually about to look for him when we stopped by here.”

“Yeah, and you had to get your flowers.” The twin rolled his eyes. 

“Technically, they’re your flowers,” Riku teased. “Sora, this is my brother, Rikuto.” 

“I’m the better one.” 

“Better?” Sora tilted his head in confusion, even as he held out his hand. “Better at what?”

“Everything,” Rikuto said, shaking his hand briefly before glaring up at Riku’s bat. “ _ He _ was supposed to be finding the source of the nightmares, not getting himself spoiled.” He turned his glare to Sora instead. 

Sora blushed, holding his hands up. “He, um... no! He just napped for a bit in the poppies upstairs. He was gone by morning so I’m sure he finished his mission.”

The brothers suddenly turned to each other, sharing a look. Sora felt awkward as the air turned from light and teasing to something tenser. In a pot by the cash register, a small bundle of begonias shuddered. 

Sora cleared his throat. “Er... is everything—”

“We have to report back to Yen Sid,” Rikuto stated, already turning away, his pot of flowers still clutched in his hands. 

“Um—” Sora blinked. Was it something he said? “Are you—”

“It’s okay.” 

Sora turned back to Riku who offered him a small, shy smile. 

“Don’t get too close, Riku!” Rikuto called from the door. “You know what happens with those kinds of nightmares.” 

“Dammit, Rikuto!” Riku shouted at his twin, then offered Sora an apologetic grin instead. “Don’t mind him, he’s just... an asshole. Thank you for the flowers.” 

With that, Riku was also out the door. 

Sora was left staring after them, with a bunch of shaking begonias and a heavy heart. 

_ What _ kinds of nightmares?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings:_  
Purple Violets - "You occupy my thoughts"  
Basil - Hatred (but in this context I mean it more as a cooking spice... but yeah, poor basil doesn't have a great meaning.)  
Rosemary - Remembrance  
"...little blue flowers" (Hayner is referring to Blue Rockets) - Rivalry  
Cup-and-Saucer Cobaea - Gossip  
Lilies - Return of Happiness  
Amaryllis - Splendid Beauty  
"flower in her bouquet that means distrust" - Lavender - distrust  
"flower that indicates jealousy" - Yellow Roses - Jealousy/departure of love  
Baby's Breath - Everlasting love  
Daffodils - New beginnings  
Begonias - Caution


	3. Iris

“Okay, you were right,” Sora took another sip of his strawberry smoothie. “The strawberries are better than the peaches this year.” 

“I told you,” Kairi singsonged, drinking from her own smoothie. “I literally predict the future and you still doubt me?

Sora laughed, “I don’t doubt. I’m just keeping you on your toes.” 

Kairi grinned back, clinking her glass to his before they both took another sip. 

_ Ding! _

Sora quickly swallowed the mouthful of smoothie and wiped his chin with the back of his hand. “Hi! Welcome to Fanci — force— ” He shook his head as the person who entered came into view. Or rather, the flowers they were holding came into view. 

“I didn’t pay my bill yesterday.” 

Sora blinked in surprise. “Riku?” He quickly stepped around the counter and took the flowers from the man. “What are you— ”

“My bill. For Rikuto’s flowers.” Riku’s face was an interesting shade of red as he refused to meet Sora’s gaze. “That’s— I didn’t mean…” 

Sora laughed, “It’s okay. I don’t think I actually noticed?” Which was really no way to run a business, now that he thought about it. He took the flowers from Riku's arms and put them onto the countertop. There really were a lot, practically a whole hydrangea bush filled with— 

Sora gulped. Filled with striped carnations. 

_ Heartlessness and extreme refusal.  _

“Who got you these flowers?” Sora asked, hoping his voice didn’t shake. There was no reason to panic Riku if he thought it was a nice gesture and— 

“Oh, they’re for you actually!” 

Sora blinked in shock, then turned to stare at Riku. “For— For me?” Did he do something wrong? For a rejection that harsh… Was it something he said yesterday? 

Was it about his nightmares?

“Sora—what’s wrong?” 

Riku sounded so curious and worried. Did he not know? Maybe he didn't? But if he got the flowers from another Floriographist, they should have warned him, right? 

“It’s not often he gets flowers from other floral shops,” Kairi cut in, motioning for Sora to step aside. 

Sora took a deep breath, glad for her interference. Maybe Riku really  _ didn’t _ know what the flowers meant. But still… that particular combination. 

It was terrifying. 

“So… Riku right? From the Morpheus, Inc.?” 

Sora heard Kairi ask the question while he tried to calm his racing heart. 

“Yeah, how did you know?” Riku sounded confused. “Did Sora tell you?

Kairi laughed. “Nope!” 

“Did someone at the office—?”

“Not exactly!”

Finally, Sora collected himself and took pity on the poor man. “Stop teasing him, Kairi!” He stood away from his counter and shifted the flowers over just enough that he could see both of them. 

“Kairi’s an oracle,” he explained to Riku. “She can see the future.” 

Riku blinked for a moment, then turned his (perfect) smile towards Kairi, who was grinning smugly. “Really? Oh, so you’re Namine and Xion’s older sister.”

“Yep!” Kairi held out a hand. “It’s nice to meet you in person!” 

“Likewise, I guess.” Riku shook her hand, then turned back to Sora. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look exhausted… and scared?” He reached out but then hesitated, curling his hand into a fist at his side instead. “Is it the flowers?’

Sora’s eyes widened at the guess and he quickly shook his head. “No, no, of course not! The flowers are lovely!” He then glanced around the shop, avoiding those pretty teal eyes.

A sprig of snowdrops caught his eye, along with a purple and white tulip and a few stalks of periwinkle, and he quickly snatched a few up, wrapping them with a cedar tree leaf. He sometimes found it easier to say things with flowers, even if the recipient doesn’t know their meaning. “Here. A bouquet for a bouquet.” 

Riku took the offered bundle gently, as if afraid to crush the flowers. “They’re beautiful! What do they mean?” 

“Uh….” Well, Sora couldn’t tell him the actual meaning, lest he risk more striped carnations. “It means uh, friendship! And hope. And—” He shook his head, trying to steady his thoughts. He usually wasn’t this awful with words but there was something about Riku that just turned his brain to mush. 

“I love them.” 

Sora glanced back, finding Riku holding the flowers fondly, all of them preening under his gaze. Sora let out the breath he was holding. The hydrangeas sitting on his counter still worried him, and Sora didn’t know what to believe. Did Riku think Sora was heartless? Was Riku heartless? Was it just an honest mistake? Maybe he and Riku could start over with friendship instead.

“I, uh, I have to leave for work. But um—” Riku rubbed the back of his head with the hand not holding his bouquet. “I can probably sneak these in. Should I put them in water when I get there?”

Sora grinned, “Yeah! They’ll be okay sitting on your desk or something!” He glanced back at the hydrangeas. He would have to water them as well. He wasn’t the biggest fan of having them in the shop, as people rarely felt heartless or boastful enough to keep the blooms in top condition, but for Riku, he’d take care of them. 

“Are you… gonna be okay?” 

Sora glanced up at Riku. 

There was so much concern in those teal eyes, a direct contradiction to what the flowers meant. “Yeah. Thank you for the flowers.” 

“Sora, I—”

“It’s okay, Riku.” Kairi interrupted gently, “Sora’s just tired. He’ll be okay. It’s almost time for your shift anyway, right?”

Riku glanced down at his watch, then back at Sora. “Yeah, but—”

“You can visit later.” 

Slowly, Riku glanced away then walked towards the door. Sora watched him leave, the little silver bell chiming with his exit. 

“It’s going to be okay, Sora,” Kairi murmured quietly. 

He felt her hand gently touch his wrist and he let out the breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “I just—- He’s so—”

“He is a lot cuter in person,” Kairi admitted with a grin, “And maybe just a bit oblivious to what those flowers meant. I’m sure he’ll come around.” 

“Are you saying that with foresight or because you’re trying to make me feel better?” Sometimes Sora honestly couldn't tell.

There was a spark of pain as Kairi punched his arm. “I’m saying that because I’m your friend. I know the war changed you a bit, but—”

“I’m fine, Kairi!” Sora turned back, trying to offer a grin. What was the phrase again? ‘Fake it till you make it?’ If he faked it long enough, maybe he’d start feeling ‘fine’ again. He had been having more good days than bad recently. It was just these nightmares that were— “Or… you know I will be. I just… need a moment.” 

Kairi hummed, looking up at him with an air of disbelief, but took another sip of her smoothie anyway. “Uh huh…” She then turned to the pot of hydrangeas. “They’re so pretty though. Why do they mean heartless?”

Sora turned back to them. They were rather pleasing to the eye, a firework of purples and blues. The florist they came from must have worked hard to get the soil acidity just right for that combination. Grabbing a cup, he filled it with water from the tap and added it into the pot. The leaves shivered in appreciation, just happy to be in a new home. Sora gently touched one delicate bloom. 

“Master Persephone—-er—- the lady I apprenticed under. You remember her, right?” At Kairi’s nod, he continued. “She told me that Hydrangeas were hard to grow. They have so many blooms but very few seeds. In the old days, Floriographists saw that as, like, overcompensating? It just kinda devolved into meaning boastful or heartless because the flowers don’t have anything to give?”

“Huh…” Kairi reached up to gently pet one of the many flower blooms as well. “Well, I think they’re pretty.” 

The flowers practically beamed at the compliment as the colors grew brighter in response. 

Sora and Kairi sat in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the flowers shift and preen, their colors practically glowing now. 

“I’m okay,” Sora reiterated, “I’m just… you know—”

“I know,” Kairi nodded. “And that’s why I’m worried.” 

Sora frowned, “Did you see something?”

Kairi looked up at him, her expression completely unreadable. “If I did, would you really want to know?” 

Sora blinked, thinking about it for less than a moment before shaking his head. “No. You know I don’t.” 

“I know,” Kairi repeated, finishing off her smoothie and set the glass down on Sora’s counter. “C’mon. Let’s close up shop for a bit. You need a walk.” 

“Huh? I—” 

But Kairi already had him out the door before he could protest further, flipping the sign around to the “be back in an hour” side. 

Sora could admit that maybe he did need some time away from the shop, the fresh air already helping to free his mind of the cobwebs that had been forming. 

They barely made it to the corner when the sudden sound of a siren next to them caused Sora’s heart to jump and start racing.

The siren! The siren meant— 

“Hey, sorry. I forgot you don’t like that.” 

Sora gasped, placing his hand over his heart as he tried to calm it. It was just Leon in his police car. Sora took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the relief coursing through him. “It’s fine! I just wasn’t expecting it!” 

Lean frowned, parking his police car and climbing out. He leaned against it, his arms crossed. “You okay, Sora?” 

“I’m  _ fine _ !” Sora stressed. And he would be. Eventually. 

Leon stared at him for a long moment before letting out a sigh. “Well, I stopped to warn you two not to wander around too long after dark. The Nightmare attacks have been getting worse.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sora saw Kairi frown. 

“You mean the  _ creatures _ called Nightmares right?” she asked. “The bad Dream Eaters?” 

Leon nodded. “The people from Morpheus, Inc. say they’re not usually so dangerous, mostly because Nightmares aren’t powerful enough to take on a physical form. But lately…” 

Sora remembered Ven’s concern the other night. About the Nightmare attacks. “They’ve been attacking people right?”

Again, Leon nodded. “They’re getting stronger every night. The attacks are more vicious, and they last longer. Our weapons are practically useless against them and the Dream Weavers barely have a handle on the ones that appear.” Leon let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Sora looked down. Was that what Riku did at his job? Chase down these dangerous Nightmares?

“Do the Dream Weavers get hurt? When they try to round up the Nightmares?” Sora asked, digging his hands into his pockets. Would Riku get hurt?

Leon shrugged. “A few do. But it’s part of their job. Just like protecting people from the stray Heartless or two is mine.” 

He offered Sora a rare tilt of his lips that was almost a grin. 

“Anyway,” Leon continued, “I was just about to swing by your shop to see if I could leave some handouts tomorrow to warn people about the Nightmares? Just an advisory to stay inside after sundown and who to contact if they see a stray Nightmare in their yard?” 

Sora quickly nodded, “Yeah of course!” 

Leon grunted in acknowledgment and opened the driver's side door, climbing back into the police car. “I’ll be by tomorrow morning, then.” 

With that, he sped off and the two of them resumed their aimless walk. As they walked, Sora began to breathe a little easier, letting the sounds of the city wash over him. Radiant Garden wasn’t as big as some cities, but it was bigger than the island village he grew up in. The days spent lounging on the beach or chasing his brothers around the play island seemed so far away now. Kairi and her sisters would visit during their summer vacations and every other weekend. It was because of her that Sora began to long for city life, for an adventure beyond the islands.    
  


He glanced at Kairi, who looked deep in thought, and Sora wondered if she was seeing the future at that moment. Something about him? Or something about the city itself, like the Nightmare Dream Eater problem? Or something about her sisters? 

Or maybe she wasn’t seeing the future at all. 

“Do you ever regret it? Telling me my future when we were young?” he asked, suddenly needing to know.

He thought about her words sometimes, when she'd said that he would be a hero and go on an adventure. He wanted to do that so badly, that he had never considered what the cost of his adventure would be. He was pretty sure Kairi hadn't understood it then either. 

Kairi blinked out of her thoughts with a frown. “Well… It’s hard to say. What I see… doesn’t always mean what I think it does. I told you the future, but it was still your decision as to how you arrived there. And it was your path to take. I just see facts, I can’t see… the feelings you get. And sometimes it doesn’t mean at all what I thought it should.” She glanced up at him. “It’s like with your flowers. Sometimes they can have different meanings, right?”

Sora hummed in acknowledgment. Magic was never as easy as he thought it would be when they were younger. “Yeah. Sometimes it depends on context, or even if you’re just following an older dictionary or something. Master Persephone told me to just go with my heart with what the flowers were telling me they meant.” 

“So the flowers say things?” 

Nodding, Sora remembered his odd flower order a month ago. “I had crimson roses come in last month that insisted they meant death and remembrance, instead of true love. I had to reorder and express ship the whole batch for the wedding they were ordered for, but I also had to do what the flowers wanted. I managed to get them to a funeral the next week instead. They seemed to be happy with the arrangement.”

Kairi let out a startled giggle, covering her mouth. “Well, that’s what I mean. While you think you know what certain flowers should mean, by the time they get to you, they may want to mean something else entirely.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I’m not explaining it right but—”

“It’s okay. I think I get it.” He wrapped her up in a hug. “Thank you.” 

Kairi let out a huff and wrapped her arms around his waist in return. “It’s gonna get better Sora. I promise. I don’t need to see the future to know that.” She pulled away just enough to look him in the eye. “I wish that you didn’t go through what you did to get here. I wish that I had warned you before you chose to learn war magic; before you took on a keyblade. But I also knew what you were destined to do. It’s what you went through that I regret.” 

Sora shook his head. “Don’t. I don’t regret it.” He just wishes it didn’t haunt his dreams so much. 

Kairi grinned. “Everything that happened is what made you who you are now. And, apparently, that means you have a rather cute silver-haired admirer…” She trailed off with a teasing grin. 

Sora felt his face heat up. “No way. He doesn't... Kairi!!” It was hard to believe that Riku could like him like  _ that _ . Sora stuttered way too much and acted like a total dork whenever the silver-haired man was around. “He probably saw me looking at him. That’s what the flowers—”

“Who knows why people do things.” Kairi shoved his arm lightly, letting out a sigh. 

“You know why people do things,” Sora pointed out, but Kairi shook her head. 

“I just told you. I know people do things but I don’t always know why.” She glanced up at Sora. “I know why  _ you _ do things because I’ve known you forever.” 

Sora let out a sigh of his own. “I hate it when you get all oracle-y on me.” 

Kairi laughed, “You wouldn’t have me any other way.” 

They walked around town for a while longer before Kairi had to return to her job at the animal shelter, and Sora made his way back to the shop alone.

Only to stop in his tracks right at the door. 

There, right above the door to the shop. Achalea Maleforium and tansy.

_ A declaration of war.  _

It was tied with a piece of hemp rope and nailed right above his door. It was impossible to miss. 

He stared at it for a long moment, his heart racing, before he reached up with one hand and yanked the flowers down, trying not to crush them. It wasn’t their fault, but Sora wondered who he had pissed off so much to receive a clear declaration like this. 

Letting out a sigh, Sora opened the door to his shop. He felt the magic as the flowers all turned towards him, some shuddering at his apprehension, others relishing in it. He took a deep breath and tried to cordon off the flow of magic to certain flowers that he had frightened with his fear. Then he walked over to the sink and grabbed a spare vase, filling it up with water and placing the bundle inside. They might live a few days, but flowers that were given out of spite and hate rarely lasted long. 

He let out another sigh. Technically, he should keep the shop open for another few hours, but the thought sent a wave of anxiety through him, settling in his lower back and shoulders. So he put up the closed sign and instead started watering the plants that needed it, fertilized some that were hungry, and gently petted the ferns in the corner. The hydrangea flowers Riku had given him were wilting a little bit, though Sora wasn’t sure how to fix that. It wasn’t in him to be heartless  _ or _ boastful. The striped carnations were also looking a little worse for wear. 

Sora felt conflicted. The plant’s wilted condition seemed to confirm his doubts that Riku understood the meaning behind the flowers as neither plant was flourishing very well. But the arrangement still concerned him. On their own, either flower would be… okay. An easy misunderstanding to clear up. But together…?    
  
Sora supposed the only way he would ever know for sure was if he asked Riku 

He checked on the flowers anyway, sending out some helpful plant growing vibes to see if that would perk it up. Hopefully, by the next morning, it would look better. Riku had given them, so Sora wanted them to look their best. 

After that final check, Sora opened the door that led up to his apartment above the shop, closing and locking it behind him. Between Riku’s strange mixed messages and the declaration of war on his shop, it had been an odd day. 

He barely had the energy to make dinner, settling for a sloppily made peanut butter and jelly before curling up underneath his bed covers. If he went to bed early while it was still daylight out, maybe he wouldn’t have terrible dreams. 

He should have known it was futile. The dreams came for him no matter what time it was. 

It always started the same: Sora in his battle uniform, his Kingdom Key held aloft in just as much fear as bravery, cutting through the swarms of Heartless that threatened to overwhelm him. He cut through the Shadows easily, and even the stronger Heartless were powerless against a strong burst of Fire or battle magic like a Quick Blitz. 

He was always a little disturbed at how easily the battle magic came to him. It was so different from the way he cared for his plants, which were gentle and needy. Battle magic made him feel overpowered and too big for his body. But on the battlefield of his dreams, it was the only thing saving him. He didn’t think he could vanquish the Heartless so easily with a bouquet of peace lilies or a flower crown of roses. 

So instead, he cut through them on his quest for their leader: the self-proclaimed “mistress of all evil” who caused this mess and now threatened the lives of everyone Sora loved back home. Roxas and Ventus were fighting on another front, trying to keep the Heartless waves and Maleficent’s minions from breaching the barrier that had kept the sorceress contained for so long; Roxas’s light magic was able to reinforce the barrier of light while Ven pushed the Heartless back with the power of the winds. 

But only Sora had gone into the Keyblade Forces, a military-like unit specifically for Keyblade wielders, to study battle magic as his specialty. He just wanted to help, wanted to do something to save his home. Kairi had said he would go on an adventure and be a great hero. 

He didn’t know that the cost would be his peace of mind. 

Another Shadow sprang at him, and Sora cut it down without flinching. 

This time though, instead of the quiet sputter as the Shadow faded, it opened its mouth and let out a scream that sounded too human. 

Sora flinched, still holding his keyblade aloft. But once one Heartless started, they all started to scream. Cries of pain and hopelessness and above all, cries that were way too human. Sora was hurting them. Killing them. Sora was the source of all this pain and fear and loathing. 

Scared, Sora lashed out, trying to get away, but the swarm of screaming Heartless began amassing into something larger, more fearsome. He couldn’t do this. Not on his own. Not when they were yelling at him. Demanding to know why he was causing them pain. 

His Kingdom Key vanished from his hand as Sora curled in on himself. His fault. This was all his fault. He should have realized — should have known that these beings were once human. Of course, he was hurting them. Erasing them from existence. This was all his fault. What was he doing?! 

“Sora.” 

Sora’s head shot up in surprise. That was new. 

The Heartless never called out his name. 

“Sora?” 

Sora glanced around, his eyes finding a pair of teal ones that stared at him in kindness, but also with a hint of shock. 

“Ri—” Sora shook his head. No. Riku couldn’t be here. 

Riku was too kind, too pretty, for this battleground. 

Riku didn’t seem out of place though as he knelt down and laid a hand on Sora’s back. “Well… this isn’t quite what I expected from a Floriographist.”

Instantly, Sora felt his heart drop. Was this some new nightmare? Riku rejecting him because of what he had done?

But Riku was still grinning at him, so, so pretty against the darkness around them. “Do you want to see something neat?” 

Riku pulled away just enough to hold out his hand to him. 

Without a shred of hesitation, Sora reached up and took it. 

Instantly, the battleground faded away, as did Sora’s battle armor, leaving him in the sleep shirt and boxers in which he had fallen asleep. Sora gasped at the change, breathing in clear air and his head ringing in the sudden silence. 

He looked around, finding himself in a field of moonflowers that seemed to glow even without a moon in sight. Instead, when Sora looked up, a sea of stars waited for him. There were thousands, each one unique and bright and so thickly clustered together that Sora couldn’t pinpoint any specific constellations. It was truly as if someone had spread glitter against a dark blue backdrop. 

“Do you like it?” 

Sora turned and saw Riku behind him. He emanated with the same light as the stars and the flowers, his silver hair glowing and his eyes piercing through Sora’s soul. 

“Beautiful,” Sora stated, not talking about their surroundings and unable to say anything else while looking directly at Riku. He averted his eyes, taking in the sight of a beautiful pale moonflower instead. “Where are we?” 

“Hmm, well…” 

Sora turned back at the uncertain voice, watching as Riku shrugged, his grin morphing into something a little more teasing. 

“Where do you think we are?” 

Sora frowned, glancing around, finding that they were standing at a crossroads, with pathways leading in four different directions. “I… don’t know?” 

It certainly wasn’t anyplace Sora had been before. 

He tried to think of an answer though, but as he did so, the air began to shift again into the acrid smoke of the battlefield, and the flowers started to wilt and die. 

Sora’s heart began to beat faster, his limbs feeling sluggish and slow. No. Not again! Not now—! 

“Hey, show me your shop?” 

Sora felt Riku’s hand grip his shoulder tightly. Between one blink and the next, they were standing in Sora’s shop. But it wasn’t the current shop layout, with the happy ferns and the roses with complicated meanings and the lilies that loved his attention. 

It was the shop as it was when Sora first opened nearly a year ago. When he was still recovering from the night terrors and the physical wounds that were slow to heal. He had started with simple flowers and simple meanings. Red roses for love, Pink Carnations for mothers. 

It even had the pretty black and red banner that Vanitas had hung around the shop to celebrate Sora’s opening. His brother had been instrumental in not only helping him secure the shop space, but also in securing a Floriography master to train under, having risked the wrath of his own Master, Hades, to ask Hades’s wife Persephone to train Sora. The arrangement had worked out well and Persephone had given him his first flower bouquet with a more complicated meaning: good luck and well wishes. Sora had managed to keep that bouquet alive for months. 

Until this new set of night terrors started.

Sora shook his head, not wanting to return to the battlefield again. Instead, he tried to focus on the shop in front of him. “How—”

“Well, this is your dream. Right, Sora?” 

Riku’s voice was calm and his hand was a comfort where it still gripped Sora’s shoulder. 

His presence soothed Sora, even if he still questioned if it was real. 

“But if this is a dream, then how—” 

A scuffling from the bucket of stemless roses cut off Sora’s question. Suddenly with a pop of displaced air, a creature appeared, screeching angrily. 

Its unexpected appearance startled Sora so much that it took him a minute to figure out why it looked familiar. The shape and size were similar to Riku’s Dream Eater partner, Momo. But the coloring was all wrong, dark shades of purple and lavender instead of bright pinks. Most startling of all was the bright red eyes that glared at Sora as the creature let out another screech. 

He feels Riku tighten his hold on Sora’s shoulder. 

“Get out.” 

Sora blinked in surprise. Riku’s voice had grown deeper, more of a growl than a demand. 

The creature screeched again, sending out some kind of sonic blast that rattled Sora’s bones until a screen of midnight blue shielded him from the attack and felt Riku pull him into a warm embrace.

Sora looked at what was shielding him, followed the line of midnight blue where it shifted and changed, thin, glittery membranes of skin pulsing with energy. The membranes got thicker and narrower as they wrapped around Riku’s back. 

Were they wings? 

Behind them, the creature let out another screech, which was quickly echoed by others. 

Had it summoned more of them?

Sora tried to pull away to see them, but Riku pulled him in even closer. Sora felt protected, though he did want to know what was going on. “What are those things?”

“Nightmares,” Riku answered simply, keeping an eye on all of the creatures. 

Sora blinked in surprise. Nightmares? The same creatures attacking people at night? He knew they appeared in dreams as well, but never in numbers like this. 

Suddenly, Sora felt cold as Riku’s arms let go of him. Riku let out a yell and rushed at the first creature. The creature let out a startled screech and disappeared before Riku even reached it. But then two more appeared behind Riku and attacked him. Riku batted them away with ease, swiping at them with hands that Sora now realized were tipped with razor-sharp claws. 

The creatures just continued to multiply, and soon Riku was overwhelmed. 

Sora reached out, wanting to help in some way, but how? 

Another two bat-like creatures popped out of the carnation bucket, tipping the whole bundle over and spilling water onto the floor. 

Water… 

Part of Sora’s plant magic allowed him to manipulate water in some way. But he could amplify that power if he summoned—

Riku let out another growl and took out another creature, but the numbers were increasing even further. 

Sora clenched his fist, summoning his keyblade. “Water!” 

The spell pulled the water out of every bucket, mixing it with his own magic into a powerful wave that he unleashed upon the hoard of Nightmare Dream Eaters. 

The magic caused many of them to dissipate on the spot, the others disappearing as soon as they got wet.

Riku easily took out the few stubborn stragglers, before his wings and claws faded as he turned back to Sora. “You-you're a keyblade wielder?”

The Kingdom Key immediately vanished from his hand, his blood rushing to his face as shame filled Sora. Riku knew then. Knew what the keyblade wielders did. Riku would hate him now… “You weren’t supposed to find out. I— The war, and I—” 

“Shh…” 

Suddenly Sora felt Riku’s arms around him again and Sora melted. Dream or not, Riku was so warm and safe. He wished the real thing would hold him just as close. Would the real Riku act just as the dream Riku did? 

“I think that’s amazing. You’re amazing, Sora.” 

Sora blushed for a different reason, and he hid his face in Riku’s shoulder. He really wasn’t. He was just a simple Floriographist who had done something terrible and now just wanted to live a quiet life. Nothing amazing about that. 

Now that the nightmares had vanished, Sora felt his limbs lightening, feeling more floaty than he usually did in his dreams. Was he waking up?

Sora clutched Riku’s shirt, not wanting to leave this dream yet. It had turned into such a good dream, he wanted to hold onto it forever. 

He felt Riku’s arms tighten in return, and he heard Riku murmur something in his ear, but he couldn’t make out the words. 

Then, Sora blinked his eyes open, the first breaks of sunrise making their way in through the open window. 

Letting out a yawn, Sora tried to remember the feeling from that dream. Warmth… and love. Acceptance. 

Riku. 

It was the first nice dream he'd had in ages. 

But he didn’t think he would be able to get back to sleep. Which was just as well. He could take his time watering the flowers and magically talk with all of them to check on their emotional well-being. It had been a while since he had been able to just… be a Floriographist. 

As he turned to step out of bed, something at the foot of his dresser caught his eye. 

A small red bud, one of the flowers from the poppy he kept at the top of the dresser, laid on the ground, some leaves still attached, as if it had been pulled out, rather than fallen naturally. Sora frowned and got up, cradling the tiny bud in his hand. It was still fresh, maybe having been pulled out a minute or two before Sora woke up. 

Sora’s brow furrowed as he reached up to adjust the poppy plant. He found the spot where the bud had been torn off and he pressed it back on, sending a wave of healing energy into it. His fingertips glowed bright green for a second before he pulled away, the bud now firmly reattached. 

The plant itself looked a little bedraggled though, mussed with several flowers pushed aside and squashed. 

Had Momo returned for a nap in the night? But why? 

Sora stared at the flowers for a moment longer, trying to figure out what their disturbed state meant. But in the end, he couldn’t figure it out and decided to just leave it for the day. 

Though, if Momo wanted a good place to sleep, Sora would have to get a bigger pot of poppies. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings:_  
Iris - I have a message for you  
Strawberry blossoms - Foresight   
Striped Carnations - extreme refusal  
Hydrangeas- Heartlessness or Boastfulness (and one other... secret meaning. ^_^ Kudos to those who find it before the next chapter)   
Snowbell- hope  
Purple & White Tulip - Beautiful eyes  
Periwinkle - friendship  
Cedar -Strength  
Crimson Roses - Death and/or Rebirth as well as Passionate Love   
Achillea Maleforium - Also called Yarrow. This is one of those... complicated meanings. On the one hand, Achillea Maleforium is pretty consistently listed as signifying "war". But Achillia Maleforium is just the scientific name for "Yarrow" which is consistently listed as "cure for a broken heart/heartache"   
Tansy - "I declare a war against you"   
Hemp - Fate  
Moonflowers - I dream of love


	4. Garden Daisies

_ Ding! _

The sound startled Sora a bit, and he nearly spilled tea everywhere as his hands shook. He'd just opened the shop five minutes ago and never got customers this early unless they were picking up flowers for an event. 

Sora gulped around the sip of tea, thinking quickly while his back was still to the door. Had he forgotten something? With the dreams and Riku and everything, did he forget to put flowers together? Or—

“I’m sorry.” 

Sora gasped and turned around finding Riku there, holding a bunch of hyacinths, the petals a deep purple that radiated their meaning: a sincere apology that was echoed in Riku’s eyes. His smile was small, unsure, and a little bashful. 

Sora tilted his head in confusion. “Huh? What do you—” 

Riku thrust the hyacinths into Sora’s hand, their powerful, sweet smell overwhelming his senses as he took them. Sora could tell from a single touch that they were exceedingly healthy, and he could practically feel the heartfelt apology they came with. 

“I think… I’m pretty sure I gave you the wrong message yesterday.” Riku suddenly appeared unsure what to do with his hands now that they were free of flowers, clenching them into fists at his side. Teal eyes glanced over at the hydrangeas that were doing alright, but not as chipper as they had been yesterday. The striped carnations had wilted entirely. 

“The hydrangeas, I mean,” Riku continued. “Er… I— Have you ever heard the story ‘The Emperor and the Handmaiden’?” 

Sora blinked again, even more confused than before. Riku’s face was steadily turning red much the same way it had the day they had met. Slowly, Sora shook his head. “No… I don’t think I have.” 

“Oh…” Riku let out a quiet sound that may have been a groan or a whine. 

They stood there awkwardly for a moment longer before the flowers in Sora’s hand began to lean into his chest, as if seeking forgiveness and understanding, the broad green leaves starting to wilt a bit. 

Sora quickly sent a wave of magical forgiveness to the flowers, feeling it as they perked up again. He wished he could do the same to Riku as the other man seemed to want to sink into the shop’s tiled floor. 

Taking a deep breath, Sora tried to calm his racing heart. So Riku hadn't known the meaning of the hydrangeas then? But what did the story have to do with it? 

Before they would be able to talk properly, Sora would need to put the flowers in some water. Turning, he found a vase that was perfect and quickly filled it with tap water, lacing it with healthy growing magic to help the hyacinths settle into their new home. He turned back to Riku, finding him still staring awkwardly at the floor. 

“I’ve tried on other days to get the floor to suck me under,” Sora teased, trying to get Riku to smile again. “It’s never worked for me.” 

“Maybe if I just glare at it harder it will obey,” Riku mumbled back, but Sora was sure he saw the hint of a smile there. 

“Good luck,” Sora chuckled, reaching out hesitantly, but stopping short of touching Riku’s clenched fist. “So… I haven’t heard that story before. But would you mind telling me?” 

Riku finally met his gaze again, face still a little red, but not as embarrassed as before. 

“Yeah…” Riku nodded, then reached out the rest of the way to briefly tap his fingers against Sora’s hand. “It’s a story my mother told me when Rikuto and I were really young. I think she learned it from her parents. But, basically, there was this Emperor a long time ago who fell in love with a handmaiden. But he got busy with his work and neglected her. So she went home to her family. After she left, the Emperor realized how much he relied on her advice and encouragement to complete his work but had never returned the favor. And then she was gone. So he tried to win back her favor, sending gift after gift with his butlers and servants, all of which she refused. Finally, the Emperor decided to travel to her family’s estate himself with nothing but his last gift: a pink and blue hydrangea bush.” 

“And did she like it?” Sora asked. 

Riku grinned. “I always thought she liked the Emperor’s apology more than the flowers. But… yeah. Ever since that day, hydrangeas in their country came to mean apology and understanding. My father always gave my mom a hydrangea bush on their anniversary to make up for anything he did throughout the year.” 

Sora chuckled. “Sounds wise of him. Though I hoped he apologized as well.” 

“He did. When the stubbornness wore off.” Riku started to laugh, his eyes now filled with mirth. “I’m… I’m really sorry. When I left yesterday, you looked so sad and I didn’t know why so I checked with an actual Floriography book and—” 

“Saw the meaning…” Sora finished, letting out another laugh. “It was just a silly misunderstanding.” 

“Yeah,” Riku nodded. “I’m still confused though why the florist I went to suggested the carnations to go with it…” 

“Did you say what the flowers were for?” Sora asked, understanding what had happened. At Riku’s shake of his head, his suspicions were confirmed. “They might have thought you were rejecting someone.” 

Riku’s brow furrowed. “But don’t carnations mean ‘a crush’ or something?” 

Sora felt his face heat up at the word ‘crush.’ “Er, well. They can. But these are actually striped carnations and they mean rejection, so, I—” 

Warm hands suddenly engulfed his own as Riku grabbed them. 

“That’s not what I meant at all!” Riku protested. “I wasn’t rejecting you! I was trying to ask you out!” 

Sora’s mind went blank as Riku’s face turned red again. Then Sora’s hands felt cold as Riku dropped them to cover his mouth as if trying to hold his words in. After a moment, for Sora staring at him in shock, Riku slowly dropped his hands, words rushing out. 

“Er— I mean. I— uh. You’re cute! And I just… well? Sora?” 

Sora couldn’t find his words and wished he could write something instead. Maybe something along the lines of _ ‘Error: Sora.exe not found _.’ 

“Sora?” Riku tried again, about to take a step forward, Instead, he hesitated, stepping backward instead. “I mean… if you don’t want to, that’s fine. But I just wanted to explain about the hydrangeas and all just in case I—” 

“Did you mean that?” Sora finally asked. 

“The apology?” Riku nodded quickly. “Yeah! I’m so sorr—” 

“No,” Sora shook his head. “I mean… Did you really want to ask me out?” 

Riku stopped trying to apologize and met Sora’s gaze, taking a step closer once more. “Yeah. I did. Will— Will you go out with me, Sora?” 

Sora’s eyes widened, his heart racing once more. However, this time it wasn't out of fear or anticipation, but out of pure excitement. He couldn’t stop the grin that overtook his face even if he had wanted to. Riku wanted to go out with him. This gorgeous, gorgeous man wanted to not only be Sora’s friend, but he also wanted to go out with him. 

Slowly, Riku smiled. “Can… can I take that as a yes?”

“Yes!” Sora shouted, then let out a giggle, too happy to keep it in. “Yes. I want to go on a date with you. I thought… I thought you knew I liked you and were trying to firmly turn me down.” 

“Never!” Riku reaffirmed. He held out his arms and Sora barely hesitated before stepping closer, immediately feeling Riku’s warm arms surround him. 

His suspicions had been right. Riku’s hugs were amazing. 

He was amazed that his dream version of Riku had gotten this perfectly right as well. 

“You’re so amazing Sora,” Riku murmured quietly, just for Sora to here. “So, so amazing. How could anyone ever hate you.” 

Sora hummed and leaned into the hug, wrapping his own arms around Riku’s waist. He squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, relishing in the feeling, before opening them again. 

The Achalea Maleforium and Tansy that had been nailed to his door yesterday was the first thing he saw. 

And instantly, the warmth and comfort he had been feeling were soured by a spike of dread. 

As if feeling the change in Sora’s mood, Riku’s arms tightened, and Sora felt the anxiety get squeezed out of him. Riku’s hugs were perfect, he had so much muscle in all the right places. Sora hoped he would get to experience this kind of affection in the future. 

Well… if the date went well, he would have to ask for another hug. 

Riku pulled away just enough that Sora could look up in confusion. Gently, Riku reached out to push Sora’s bangs out of his eyes, his gaze intense and questioning. Just behind Riku, the beautiful white flowers of the Cape Jasmine plant suddenly bloomed early without the help of Sora’s magic, just from the emotions in the air.

Sora saw the silent question in Riku’s eyes, and he nodded, wanting it too. As Riku leaned down, Sora rose up on his toes to meet him halfway. 

Riku’s lips brushed his, so warm and soft. But the touch was also brief. 

As soon as Sora felt the first tingles of contact, the bell above the door chimed to indicate someone entered. Sora pulled back in surprise, immediately regretting it when his lips felt cold. Riku kept his arms tight around him though, so that helped. 

“You know, you could be in so much trouble for this.”

Sora blinked at the voice, so much like Riku’s but so different now that he was started to recognize the unique nuances. 

Immediately, Riku turned to glare at the newcomer. “Rikuto.” 

“Seriously, kissing a sus—?

“Rikuto!” Riku cut his brother off and let go of Sora to march over to where his brother was smirking, one hand on his hip. “Go. Home.” 

“No. Way.” Rikuto stuck out his tongue before poking Riku in the chest, his voice dropping to a near whisper. “Riku, I know you’re lovestruck, but if he’s the source of—” 

“Shut up, and go home. This isn’t Sora’s doing, we’ve already proved that.” Riku practically forced Rikuto out of the shop, pushing the door open with one hand and shoving him with the other. “If you’re too stubborn to go home, go follow up on the leads you were working on before deciding to follow me here. Just… go somewhere else.” 

Rikuto glared back at Riku for one last moment, his narrowed gaze shifting to Sora for a mere second before he let out an angry huff and marched out the door. Through the shop window, Sora watched him shove his hands into his pocket and march down the street, head hung low and his silver hair covering his eyes. 

“Uh, did I… do something wrong?” Sora wondered out loud. He hoped that this wasn’t something that would drive a wedge between the brothers. Sora couldn’t imagine having a fight with any of his brothers like that. “Is he going to be okay?” 

Riku was still glaring at the door, his hand curled into a fist, but he finally let out a sigh when Rikuto was out of view of the window. “It’s not you. Really. We’re just… It’s been a stressful week at work, and Rikuto never handles it well.”

“It sounds…” Sora trailed off, looking for the right words. “Well, it sounds like he’s worried about you.”

Riku nodded. “He’ll be okay, though. He’s just…He thinks I’m doing something bad. If I’m wrong, I’ll be hurt.”

“Something… to do with me?” Sora tilted his head in confusion, feeling dread seep into his heart. Riku, the real Riku, didn’t know about his Keyblade, right? But did Rikuto know somehow? Was that it? 

The war hadn’t physically affected Sora’s home that much, the actions of the keyblade wielders and other magic users had seen to that. Whatever scars were left from the days of the early Heartless raids had healed over through time and community optimism. 

But the media...

Sora’s hand curled into his shirt and he found it hard to breathe. He hadn’t heard the stories until he had come home. Long after he had decided he was done with fighting. The stories in the local paper, mostly written by the editor, Triton: 

_ “Keyblades bring nothing but ruin and destruction. Lives have been lost forever because of reckless keyblade wielders.” _

_ We didn’t know! _Sora had wanted to scream when he read the article. As it was, he cried until Ven tugged the article out of his grip, and Roxas increased the amount of light exposure on it, causing the inked letters to fade into nothing. Vanitas had raved about marching into the office of the newspaper himself, itching to do something after being kept off of the front lines for most of the conflict. 

“Sora?” 

Sora felt his heart stop at the voice and without thinking he flinched and stepped back, finding Riku staring at him, his expression sad. 

Sora shook his head. “Sorry, I was just...” he trailed off, not sure what to say. 

“It’s okay,” Riku said, stepping forward and reaching out hesitantly. After a moment, Sora reached out as well to grasp Riku’s hand. Riku smiled, tugging a little until Sora stepped back into Riku’s warm embrace. 

Sora was going to get spoiled with all these nice hugs. “Did anyone ever tell you that you should go into professional comforting? Your hugs are really nice.” 

Riku chuckled into his hair. “Rikuto says I’m too big to hug anyone without squishing them.” 

“Rikuto has no idea what he’s talking about. You’re perfect.” Sora leaned his head against Riku’s chest, hearing the steady thump of his heartbeat. He felt it as Riku chuckled again, running a hand up and down Sora’s back, and Sora barely held back a pleasurable groan. He was going to get really spoiled. 

“Can I make a confession?” Riku asked, the words quiet. 

Sora nodded, leaning back just enough to look Riku in the eyes. 

“Rikuto’s the reason we met.”

“Oh?” Sora thought back, remembering the conversation from just a few days ago. “Oh! Yeah, you said that you had stepped in to get away from your brother.” 

Riku nodded, a blush starting to darken on his pale face. “Yeah, and that was… mostly true. We were actually in the area scouting out— well, work stuff. And when we passed by your shop I kept… uh… Did you know you kinda dance around when you’re watering the flowers?”

Sora laughed. “Yeah. Roxas calls it my watering jive. But it makes the seedlings happy. They’re kinda like small children, so anything that moves keeps them entertained.” 

Riku snorted. “Right. Well… you bent down at one point… and I.. uh… well. May have said something about your cute butt.” 

Sora immediately felt his face heat up and he struggled to find a response to that. “O—oh?” 

He tried to twist his body around. “It’s not that great.” It had always seemed pretty average to him, a bit scrawny even. 

“It’s— you… Everything about you is amazing.” 

_ I think it’s amazing. You’re amazing. _

Dream Riku had said that too. 

“Anyway,” Riku added, pulling away a bit more to run a hand through his hair. “Rikuto… bet that I didn’t have the, uh, balls to walk in here and actually talk to you. So I had to prove him wrong.” 

Sora laughed, hiding his red face in Riku’s shirt. “Well, I’m glad you did. I thought you were pretty cute too. Especially when you got all nervous and shy.”

“No, I didn’t!”

Sora laughed harder, “Yes you did! Your face was red and everything.” 

“I— Well—” Riku let out a sigh, “You were just so cute, I didn’t know what to say.” 

Sora hummed in agreement. He knew exactly how Riku felt. 

“Anyway…” Riku trailed off, raising a hand to cup Sora’s cheek, his thumb brushing under Sora’s eye. “How did you sleep last night?” 

“Hmm?” Riku’s hand was just as warm as his arms, and Sora couldn’t help but nuzzle it. 

“Your friend— Kairi?— She said that you were tired yesterday. So… how did you sleep?”

“Oh,” Sora thought back to his early morning but realized that he had woken well-rested. His nightmares hadn’t affected him as much as usual. 

Mostly because Dream Riku had come to save him from them. 

But he wasn’t going to tell the real Riku that. 

“I slept well,” Sora finally answered, pulling out of Riku’s arms just enough to reach for his tea again. It had turned cold, but Sora was warm with the thought that maybe Riku would hug him again later. “I had… a nice dream.” 

Was Riku’s face turning red again? Or was it just the morning sun coming in through the blinds. “I’m glad.” 

Sora offered him a smile, “Would you like a cup of tea?”

Sadly, Riku shook his head. “I shouldn’t have caffeine this late— er— early, I mean. I have to go home and sleep at least a few hours.” 

“Oh.” Sora supposed that made sense. Riku worked at night, which meant he must sleep during the day. 

He wished Riku didn’t have to leave so soon though. 

“But I can come back tonight,” Riku promised. “After you close the shop and before I go to work. We can...uh… well....” 

He trailed off in thought, running a hand nervously through his hair again. Sora smiled into his tea trying to think as well. “I like ice cream?” 

“Right!” Riku grinned. “Sea salt right? That’s what, the, uh, guy on the phone said.” 

‘Hayner,” Sora clarified, chuckling. “He gets nosy sometimes. But yes, I like ice cream.” 

“Great! There’s a place near my work that Xion loves. Do you want to, uh— Will you go with me?” 

Sora laughed. “Yes. I will go on a date with you to get ice cream.” 

“Great!” Riku’s eyes were bright with excitement and suddenly Sora realized that he hadn’t been the only one worried about whether his affections were returned or not. “I’ll pick you up when your shop closes? Okay?” 

Sora nodded, feeling the excitement affect his magic. Waves of energy and anticipation and affection poured out of him and into the nearby plants, causing the red dahlia’s near the door to shine brightly and the saffron crocuses to look a little perkier. Every flower in the shop that had any sort of romantic feeling all turned towards Riku as the man gave Sora one last hug before heading towards the door.

Sora waved as Riku left and watched him walk by the shop window, his head held high and his smile wide enough for the whole world to see. Turning back to the hyacinths on the counter, Sora took a deep breath of their sweet scent, unable to keep the grin off his own face. 

He had a date. A _ date _. With possibly the most handsome man he’d ever met. A guy who gave the best hugs and smelled so nice and felt so warm and— 

“Well, you look happier than yesterday…” 

Sora gasped. He hadn't even heard the bell ring! “Oh! Leon!” 

Leon replied with a grunt and a half-grin on his face, a stack of papers in his hand. “Here’s the flyers I promised. If you could just hand these out to customers?” 

“Of course!” Sora took the stack, reading the topmost sheet. There was a picture as well. “Is that the Nightmare Dream Eaters?”

Leon nodded. “Yeah, they come in different types, but they’re mostly like that: dark colors mixed with spots of neon.” 

“Huh…” Sora tilted his head. They looked quite a bit like the Nightmares he dreamed about. The Nightmares that Riku protected him from. “They look kinda sweet.” 

“Until they’re attacking people at night.” Leon tapped his fingers on the table. “Some attacks put people to sleep while they’re driving, or crossing the street. Others just attack people directly, knocking them into traffic or biting and scratching. Most people have been left with lingering sleep problems. And then there was the attack at a nightclub by a Nightmare T-Rex last night.”

“Oh!” Sora frowned. He hadn’t been paying that much attention to the news lately, but maybe his brothers had been right to worry the other night. “Were people… has anyone been killed?” 

“Not yet,” Leon answered. “But the attacks are getting worse. Last night was.. Surprisingly quiet after the attack on the nightclub. But there’s no guarantee that they’re done. We can only—” 

_Ding! _

Sora leaned around Leon, waving at the customer who just walked in. “Welcome! LeFou, right? I’ll be right there!” 

He returned his attention to Leon. “I’m so sorry you guys are dealing with all that right now. Is there anything else I can do? My Key—” 

Leon shook his head, cutting him off. “You’re just a private citizen now right? You’ve done your job. We can handle it from here. Well, us and the Dream Weavers. We’ll get the situation under control. But please, the flyers?” 

“Got it. I’ll hand them out today! And I’ll take them around to other business at lunch, okay?”

Leon nodded once, turning to leave. He paused when he saw Sora’s customer, and his eyes narrowed a bit in suspicion, but then he nodded at the guy and walked out the door. 

Sora tilted his head at the interaction but decided not to put much thought into it. Leon was suspicious of everyone until he got to know them. “Hey, LaFou. Another bouquet for that special guy again?” 

“Uh— Well, I guess,” LaFou stammered, a nervous habit that Sora had noticed right away when he first met the guy months ago, hovering in the background of another customer, one Sora would rather forget. “Not like I’m ever gonna gather up the courage to give it to him.” 

“Well, you never know!” Sora tried for a grin. “Today might be the day. And it might work out! Mine did!” 

“Oh?” LaFou looked up at him curiously. 

“Yeah!” Sora blushed. He shouldn’t be gossiping so much with customers, it was unprofessional. But he was just so excited. “I have a date tonight!” 

“That’s great!” LaFou sounded excited if a little wistful. “I… don’t think that’s gonna happen with me. He’s still tied up about this girl and… I dunno. I’m just… torn up about it. Haven’t been sleeping well and all...” 

The guy trailed off with a sorrowful sigh and Sora felt bad. The vines of the sweet peas were already reaching for LaFou’s hand and the China asters were preening in his direction. Frowning, Sora tried to think of something to make LaFou feel better. 

“I get that. I haven’t been sleeping well either until last night. Hmm… What about today we pick out a bouquet just for you?” 

Sora helped LaFou pick out a bouquet of yellow tulips and jonquil. As he was ringing LaFou out, Anna stepped into the shop, Olaf at her heels. Outside the shop door, Sora could just make out the towering figure of Olaf’s younger brother, Marshmallow. 

“I’ll be right there, Anna!” Sora called out, then gave LaFou one last smile. “I hope you get to feeling better LaFou.” 

LaFou gave him a wan smile in return. “Enjoy your date tonight.” He turned to leave the shop, his flowers bunched in his hand. 

Olaf waved at the man as he walked past. 

“Hi! I’m Olaf, and I like warm hugs!” 

LaFou blinked in confusion at the walking, talking snowman, before deciding to ignore Olaf altogether and left the shop. 

“Well, he seemed nice,” Olaf said, waddling over to the verbena plants, ‘sniffing’ the delicate pink and white flowers. “Ohh… my favorite!” 

“So, a date?” Anna asked, eyeing Sora in jest. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Ahh, well…” Sora rubbed the back of his head. “He’s this Dream Weaver, and he’s super cute and wonderful and gives amazing hugs?”

“Warm hugs?” Olaf questioned. 

“The warmest!” Sora reassured him, chuckling before turning back to Anna. “What brings you in today?” 

“I really want to surprise Kristoff for his birthday, and you know, I was thinking, what’s more surprising than a bouquet!” Anna grinned. “He really does like flowers, even if he won’t admit it.” 

Sora shared her grin. “I’ve seen him and Sven stop by in the wintertime when they’re clearing sidewalks. They really like the smell of evergreen and holly berries. But they’re not quite in season. Do you want to stick to something forest-y though?” 

“Yeah! Like, something that means strong? And kind? And resilient? And helpful?” 

“And smelly. And shouty. And—” Olaf stopped when he caught Anna’s stare. “What? I thought we were listing Kristoff’s good qualities.” 

Anna let out a small sigh at that. “Anyway… do you have anything that will show all that?” 

Sora nodded. “Oak and, uh, well, the Marsh Mallow plant actually means kindness, but uh—” 

Anna let out a delighted laugh. “Oh, I _ love _that! Kristoff will think that it’s great too.” 

“Wait… they named a plant after Marshmallow?” Olaf asked, genuinely curious. 

“Not exactly,” Sora explained, “But I’m sure Marshmallow is kind too.” 

“He is!” Olay agreed. 

Sora talked over a few options for flowers with Anna, letting Olaf water some of the flowers while they talked. He had met the little snowman when he and Anna hung out together at the Holiday party organized by the elemental magic company Ven worked for. Anna’s sister Elsa had worked at the same company for years, so Anna and Sora were dragged to the party in support of their respective siblings, both of them spending most of the time standing awkwardly in a corner.

Sora wrote down the flowers he would have to order for Kristoff’s bouquet and handed Olaf a sunflower to give to Marshmallow who had started to stare at them inside the shop, letting out a small wistful sigh that frosted the shop windows. Olaf waddled out and gave Marshmallow the flower, who took it with evident glee. 

“Thanks, Sora! This is gonna be the best birthday ever!” Anna waved as she left, before giving a wink “Good luck with your date tonight! Wear something nice!” 

Sora waved back, his grin faltering. Wear something nice?

_ He didn’t have anything nice! _

——

“I’m telling you Sora, just change your shirt to that one sleeveless tank you bought last time we went shopping.” Kairi sounded exasperated on the phone.

Sora hummed as he slipped his red apron off, hanging it on the hook by the watering can. Unlocking the door to the back staircase, he ran up to the second floor, taking the steps two at a time. “You sure that’s not… uh… too casual?”

“You’re going to get ice cream, not seeing a show at the opera. Your t-shirt would probably be fine, but that sleeveless tank shows off your collar bones more.” 

Sora chuckled nervously, “Kairi, I don’t think—” 

“Trust me on this one, okay?” 

Sora let out a sigh and did as he was told, slipping off his t-shirt and digging the requested tank out of his drawer. “Can I wear the jacket with it at least?

“Definitely,” Kairi agreed. “Just give him a little peep of shoulder action.” 

“Kairi!” Sora chuckled. He never really thought of himself as cute or hot or anything, but he remembered what Riku said about his butt. 

Maybe… if Riku thought he was cute... Then—

“Do… How do I not make a fool of myself?” He asked quietly, not realizing he was worried about that until the words were out. “I really like him, Kairi. But what if I’m too goofy? Or he finds out that—” 

“He likes you,” Kairi interrupted gently. “I don’t need to be an oracle to see that. He really, really likes you. And I think he’s more accepting of every part of you than you realize. All you have to do is be yourself.”

Sora let out a sigh, “I— Okay. I can do that.” 

“I know you can,” Kairi agreed. “Now, go change and get off the phone so you’re ready when he gets there. And text me when you get home! I want to hear all about it!” 

“Okay!” Sora chuckled, quickly adding a goodbye and hanging up the phone. He slipped on the tank top and glanced in the mirror. Nearly a year and a half of being out of active keyblade duty had softened his muscles a bit, but lugging around heavy buckets of flowers meant that they weren’t totally gone. There was still enough definition there that Riku might think they were sexy. 

Sora shrugged on his short-sleeved jacket anyway, feeling a little better. 

Distantly he heard the door *ding!* below, and Sora raced towards the top of the stairs. “Hang on! I’ll be right down!” 

He heard Riku answer, and Sora quickly checked his pockets, making sure he had his keys to the shop and his wallet before heading downstairs. 

Riku was tapping his fingers on the counter nervously, another bundle of flowers in his other hand, only this bundle appeared to be in a container. 

Sora gasped. “Chrysanthemums! They’re beautiful! But, you know, I’m kinda worried that you’re seeing some other Floriographist for your flower needs.”

Riku blushed. “Well, it’s hard to surprise a Floriographist by buying something from their own shop. Are you… mad? I just… saw them on the way here and they reminded me of you.” 

Sora blushed, offering a grin back. “I’ve loved every flower you’ve brought me so far. Even the hydrangeas now that I understand them better.” He took the pot from Riku’s grip, “I love that they’re still potted. It’s not often I get to grow flowers.” 

“Really?” Riku tilted his head. “How do you get your flowers?” 

“Mmm, the woman I apprenticed with sells them to me at a wholesale price. Sometimes I have to outsource if there’s something she doesn’t have, but she usually tries to get me a good range of flowers.” 

Sora quickly checked their soil, finding it a bit too dry, and he noticed that the plant was starting to get thirsty. He immediately grabbed his watering can and as he filled it, the leaves shuddered in thanks. Several of the flowers bent towards him eagerly, looking for affection and enough cheer to shine brightly. 

It was an emotion Sora was all too eager to share, and he sent enough energy and love to the plant so it looked brighter than before, practically gleaming as Sora watered it. “You’re such a good little plant, aren’t you? You’re gonna grow up to be big and strong. Then I’ll have to find a new pot for you. Now, do you want some sunlight or shade?” 

The plants couldn’t verbally answer his questions, but Sora could always tell through his magic just what they were whispering back. This little chrysanthemum plant just wanted some evening sun, so Sora made room for it in the window right next to the lilies and carnations. 

“Play nice while I’m gone, okay? I’ll be back later.” 

He turned back to Riku who was staring at him, jaw slightly open but his lips widening into a smile. “That’s… adorable.” 

Sora blushed. He had nearly forgotten that Riku was there. He rarely made a habit of talking to the plants while customers were around. Some found it a little off-putting or embarrassing. “Sorry. Sometimes I get carried away.” 

“No, that was… incredible. I don’t mind!” Riku grinned. “You should have seen me when Momo was first able to appear in the waking world. My boss said I babied him too much, but I couldn’t resist.” 

Sora chuckled. “Where is Momo?” 

“Still sleeping at home with Rikuto and his dream eater. Which reminds me…” Riku stepped closer, raising a hand to cup his cheek. There was an unspoken question in his eye and Sora nodded hurriedly. 

This time, their kiss was uninterrupted. More than just a quick aborted press of lips. Riku kept Sora grounded, pressing them together just hard enough, and Sora’s heart rate doubled. He let out a quiet groan, his hands automatically coming up to weave through Riku’s hair and — _ oh!! _ — it was so soft to the touch. He felt one of Riku’s hands slip down his back, sending a wave of pleasure down his spine. 

Riku broke away just enough to take a short breath. “I’ve wanted to do that since this morning. Now that there are no interrupting brothers.” 

Sora shook his head, pulling Riku back in. “Don’t jinx it!” 

Riku came willingly, their lips reconnecting like puzzle pieces, and his arms tightened around Sora, pulling him closer still. Sora’s pushed up onto his tiptoes, trying to press back. Riku groaned, his reaching down lower to slide his hands against Sora’s ass briefly. Sora gasped in surprise, soon finding his mouth invaded by a very eager tongue. 

Moaning into the kiss, Sora slid his own tongue against Riku’s. 

Maybe… maybe they didn’t need to go get ice cream. They could just stay here and—-

But Riku pulled away. “We should… date.”

“We are dating…” Sora murmured, still a little lightheaded from the kiss. “Kissing is good for dating.”

Riku let out a puff of air that brushed Sora’s lips. “Yes, I agree. But we should go on our date. Ice cream, remember?”

Sora let out a little conflicted sigh. “I do like ice cream…” 

Riku chuckled and pulled away, not going far before he took Sora’s hand instead. “C’mon, then.” 

Sora grinned, squeezing Riku’s hand in return, leading them out of the shop and locking the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings _  
Garden Daisies - "I share your sentiments"  
Purple Hyacinths - "Please Forgive me"  
Carnations (general) - bonds of affection, fascination, pure and deep love  
Hydrangeas - So, Riku's story hopefully explains it well. When I was researching flower meanings, particularly for hydrangeas (since they are among my favorite) I came across this story. Apparently, in Japan, hydrangeas, particularly pink ones, represent heartfelt emotion. And supposedly it stems from a story very similar to the one Riku tells Sora, about the emperor and a servant. And so hydrangeas can also have the meaning "A heartfelt apology." Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find absolute proof of this story, just several sites where they repeat it, so who knows if it's true or not. But I thought it was an interesting aspect of how different cultures can have different flower meanings  
Cape Jasmine - Anticipation  
Red Dahlia's - Joy  
Saffron Crocuses - Mirth  
Sweet Peas - wistfulness  
China Asters - Indecision  
Yellow Tulips - Hopeless love  
Jonquil - have pity on my passion/ I desire a return of affection  
Verbena - Enchantment  
Marsh Mallow - Kindness  
Sunflower - Adoration  
Chrysanthemums - Cheerfulness under adversity (a very Sora flower I thought...)


	5. Dandelions

Their hands gravitated towards each other as they walked. First, their pinkies intertwined, then Sora shifted his hand a little closer until Riku took it in his own. Sora couldn't help but swing their conjoined hands a little, basking in the butterflies in his stomach.

The smell of beignets permeated the air as they passed Tiana’s Diner. The canary grass and marjoram that Sora had helped plant earlier in the year were looking healthy and happy. Though, as Sora passed, the marjoram reached out and tangled its stems and leaves into his fingers. 

Sora blushed, which only made the marjoram tighten its hold. “Oh, c’mon. I know, I know, but you gotta let go now, okay?” 

He heard Riku’s attempts to smother his laughter, which did nothing to help dissuade Sora’s blush. Then he felt a warmth at his side. Riku petted the small green leaves, and the marjoram reached out to him as well, although not nearly to the extent it was trying to creep up Sora’s arm. Riku let out a small chuckle. “Do they do this to anyone who feels their meaning?”

Sora shook his head. “Not quite the same response. They might lean towards you, but because of the flower magic in me, they get a little more…  _ clingy _ .” 

Riku grinned and petted the marjoram some more. “Can you let him go, please? We’re on a date.” 

Sora let out a wave of reassurance and fought to control his blush. Eventually, the marjoram let go. 

“Did the plants get ya, Sora?” 

Sora stood up at the female voice, swinging a hand behind his head and laughing. He offered the young proprietor a grin. “Hey, Tiana! Yeah, they got a little rambunctious. But they’re okay now.”

Tiana covered a laugh with her hand before folding her arms across her chest. “I’m sure they’re just happy to see you. Haven’t seen you in a while.” 

Sora felt his face heat up again, but he was far enough away from the marjoram so it couldn’t reach his hand to get tangled up again. “Ah, well. Been busy. But I’m out now! Actually, I’m on a date!” 

He gestured towards Riku who held back a bit, a small smile on his face. 

Tiana raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well, have fun. Bring him by sometime for breakfast, okay?” 

Sora nodded and waved, taking Riku’s hand again and continuing with him down the street. “Sorry about that, it’s uh—” 

“You know a lot of people. And plants,” Riku said softly, squeezing Sora’s hand. “I think it’s cute. Who else do you know on this block?” 

“Oh well,” Sora grinned, always eager to talk about his friends. “You see that building over there? The dark brown and grey one?” 

Riku nodded. 

“That’s the funeral home. I usually do the arrangements for them. The funeral director Jack, and his wife Sally, are really cool. They do the best Halloween decorations.” Sora chuckled. “Actually, one Halloween, Jack came in for a bouquet to give to Sally because they had some kind of disagreement. In return for the help, Jack said he could get me a good deal on a coffin.” 

Riku’s mouth turned down a bit. “For when you die?” 

Sora felt his heart warm when Riku’s hand tightened again. “Nah, just to have. I don’t really have the room for it right now though. 

“Oh.” Riku’s frown shifted back into a grin. “That’s certainly interesting. Who else do you know?” 

“Man, I think I know almost everyone on this block,” Sora looked around the street. "The diner, of course, and the tailor and upcycled clothing shop run by Ella. Um… you know...” 

He trailed off a little unsure. Would Riku find it weird that Sora knew so many people? Sora just liked making friends. 

He offered a small shrug, trying to explain. “I grew up on a small island. It felt weird to move somewhere and not know everyone. So when I opened my shop here, I went around to every business and introduced myself.” 

Riku chuckled, evidently finding it charming rather than strange. “Where did you grow up?” 

“Oh, you‘ve probably never heard of it. It’s this chain of really small islands called the Destiny Islands. They’re just off the coast of—” Sora felt a tug on his arm, and he turned, finding that Riku had suddenly stopped. 

“The Destiny Islands?” 

Sora nodded, tilting his head. “Yeah? What’s wrong?” 

Riku shook his head before offering Sora another of his wonderful smiles. “It’s nothing Just... Rikuto and I were born on the Destiny Islands. Our parents left when we were less than a year old.” 

“Wow! Really?” Sora squeezed Riku’s hand. “That’s amazing. We could have been friends earlier!” 

Riku squeezed back and raised his other hand up to brush Sora’s bangs away from his eyes. “You wouldn’t have liked me when I was young though. I was kind of an asshole.”

“That’s not true!” Sora knew that in his heart. Riku was so… so something. Sora couldn’t explain it. But he knew that he would have been friends with Riku no matter what. “We would have been best friends. I know it!” 

“I probably would have had a huge crush on you and wouldn’t have known what to do with myself.” 

Sora laughed. “Yeah, well, I would have had a crush on you, too. But things work out for a reason, right?”

Riku nodded in agreement. Together they continued further into the city, eventually ending up at a small ice cream parlor Sora had never been to. It was quaint, with a bright green countertop and several buckets of homemade ice cream. 

They both ordered a sea salt ice cream, Riku gently pushing Sora’s hand down when he pulled his wallet out to pay.

“I’m taking you on a date,” Riku said. "You can pay next time.” 

Sora felt his heart flutter.  _ Next time. _ He liked the sound of that. 

They took a seat near the window, eating their ice creams in a pleasant silence. Sora felt Riku’s warm fingers pass over his hand. Sora grinned, raising his own fingers to gently tangle with Riku’s. 

“So,” Sora began. “Where’d you guys move to after the Destiny Islands?” 

Riku shrugged. “Here and there. Dad had to move a lot for his job, so we never stayed in one place for very long.” 

“You never had a place to call home?” Sora felt sad at the thought. Though he and his brothers all lived in Radiant Garden now, he still considered the Islands his home. He would hate not having that feeling. That’s why he'd fought so hard to protect it. 

Riku shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. It usually meant that the only friend Rikuto and I had was each other.” 

“Oh…” Sora bit his lip. “I’m really sorry if I did something to anger him then.” 

“You didn’t,” Riku stressed. “Rikuto just takes his job too seriously.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah. He’s a bit of a workaholic.” Riku grinned, his smile a little wry. “No idea where he gets it from.” 

They shared a chuckle, then Sora had a thought. 

“Wait… if you and Rikuto are twins. And then there’s Kairi and her sisters. And me and my brothers… That’s a lot of multiple births in such a small area. Was there something in the water?!” 

Riku frowned in thought. "Or someone cast a really, really strong fertility spell.”

Sora burst out in laughter, echoed by Riku’s laugh, their fingers tightening as they held onto each other. 

After they finished their ice cream, they walked around a park nearby. Sora told Riku about the trees and flowers lining the walkways, explaining their meanings. Several acacia shrubs and mossy saxifrage flowers responded to their touch when Sora reached with their joined hands to point them out to Riku. When they reached the middle of the park, Sora knelt down, sending a wave of benevolent plant energy to the ground, the plants brightening in color and thanks. 

When he stood up again, he felt Riku wrap an arm around his waist, and Sora leaned into Riku’s body, a warm contrast against the cool evening air. He let out a sigh. “I wish this date didn’t have to end.” 

Riku squeezed his waist. “Well, maybe we don’t have to let it. I mean. We can, uh, put it on hold for a bit?”

Sora looked up at him, his brow furrowed. 

“I mean—” Riku sighed running a hand through his hair. “If you want, you can meet up with me after work tomorrow morning? When I get off of work I mean. If you want. We can go get breakfast or—” 

“Yeah!” Sora loved that idea. “We can go back to the diner! Or wherever you want to go!” 

“Okay!” Riku grinned. “Sounds like a plan!” 

“The address to your work is written on your card right?” Sora grinned. "I can meet you there. When does your shift end?” 

“I usually get off around 7 am. I mean if that’s not too early for you.”

Sora quickly shook his head. “I don’t have any appointments tomorrow morning, so 7 is fine. I can open the shop up later. I’m looking forward to it!” 

“Great!” 

Sora really liked it when Riku let his guard down and these easy smiles slipped out. Everything about him lit up in a way that took the words out of Sora’s mouth. It was beautiful and astonishing, and Sora felt like he could spring lunaria and ranunculus flowers from the ground in this very instant if he had the seeds for them. 

Unable to resist, Sora leaned up on his toes and kissed Riku gently on the cheek. “I really enjoyed our date. I can’t wait to resume it.” 

Riku turned just enough that he caught Sora’s lips against his, a chaste and gentle kiss that still left Sora’s head spinning pleasantly. They both pulled away at the same time.

“‘Until tomorrow?” Riku asked quietly, as if afraid to break the moment. 

Sora nodded, so happy his heart could burst at any moment. “I’ll see you then.” 

They parted ways, Riku headed down the street to head into work while Sora started the trek back to his flower shop. His feet and his heart felt light, his mind racing with pleasant thoughts and hopes for the future. He wondered what foods Riku liked, what kind of movies he enjoyed, what his childhood was like growing up. 

And he felt warm with the thought that he might be able to discover the answers to those questions. 

He knew he still had a silly, love-struck grin on his face as he approached his flower shop, key out and ready to open the door. 

“Well, that’s quite a look.” 

Sora gasped, glancing up to find Vanitas waiting for him at the door to the flower shop. “Van!” 

He ran towards his brother, arms open. Vanitas opened his own arms easily to accept Sora’s hug. 

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked as he pulled away. It wasn’t unusual for Vanitas to visit him at the shop, but Sora couldn’t help but feel that something was off. 

“It’s nothing,” Vanitas shook his head. "It’s just... Been a bit of a confusing day.” 

“Oh?” Sora unlocked the shop door, motioning for Vanitas to follow him inside. As he relocked the door, he heard Vanitas stepping further inside, only to stop abruptly. 

“Who do Roxas and I have to kill? Ven will hide the body if I ask him to.” 

“Huh?” Sora glanced up, trying to find what would make Vanitas say such a thing, spotting the declaration of war he had received via tansies and achillea maleforium earlier in the week. “Oh. That’s— Don’t worry about that. I’m sure it’s nothing.” 

Vanitas turned his gaze on him, clearly trying to decide whether to trust Sora’s words at face value. “On a scale of weeping willow to bluets, how do you feel?”

Sora grinned. Though he still felt that Roxas was the brother he was closest too, Vanitas was always the best at reading his emotions and giving Sora the words and tools to express them a little better. 

His heart felt warm, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. All of his brothers had stood by Sora while he recovered from the final battle in the hospital’s magical burns and curses unit. They kept reporters away and made sure his identity remained a secret, something Eraqus had promised when Sora asked for it. But Vanitas was the first one to try and bring Sora back into some semblance of “normal.” 

He had brought in all of Sora’s old plant magic books and checked out every volume of floriography meanings from the library for Sora to read, quizzing him when Sora wanted it. He even begged his super scary boss at the time for the contact information for his wife, Persephone, so Sora could ask her to train him in floriography magic. 

Sora knew that Vanitas had been slipping further into his own shadow while Sora, Ven, and Roxas were fighting in the war. But seeing his brother’s hurt had brought Vanitas back to them. 

Despite the mental and physical scars the war had left on him, Sora was still so glad he was able to protect his home and his family. 

“I’m waiting for an answer here,” Vanitas grumbled, crossing his arms. 

Sora grinned, walking over to the window to tend to the chrysanthemums Riku had gifted him. “If you had asked me this morning, I may have said asphodel, but now I firmly believe that I could grow a field of alyssum if I wanted to.” 

The corners of Vanitas’s lips upturned a little bit. “That good huh? Does that have something to do with why you were out so late? 

Sora nodded. “Yeah. I was actually out on a date!” 

“Oh?” Vanitas’s grin shifted to a smirk. “With Mr. Amazing Eyes?” 

Sora blushed, turning away from the flowers in the window to sheepishly grin. “That obvious?” 

“You haven’t spoken of anyone else you had a crush on,” Vanitas pointed out. 

Sora chuckled and opened the door in the back that led to the stairs up to his apartment. Vanitas followed him up. “He’s really amazing.” 

“Is he now?” 

“Yeah!” 

As soon as they entered the small kitchen, Sora started making a pot of tea, feeling that Vanitas might need it. His brother still hadn’t revealed why he had come. 

Even as he passed Vanitas a cup of hibiscus and chamomile tea, his brother just murmured his quiet thanks. “What’s wrong?” 

Vanitas shook his head stubbornly, and suddenly out of his shadow, a Flood popped out. 

Sora frowned at the appearance of the creature. Something must be wrong but— 

“Tell me about your date.” Vanitas’s voice was quiet but calm as he took a sip of tea. 

Sora hummed in response, still unsure about what was bothering Vanitas, but decided to try and distract Vanitas instead. Setting another cup of tea down for the Flood, Sora took a sip of his own tea. “It was… nice. We went for ice cream at this shop near his workplace. Then we went to the park.” 

“The flowers must have loved that,” Vanitas chuckled, though there wasn’t any humor in it. 

“Yeah…” Even though Sora was concerned for his brother, the happiness he felt at his date was still filling his heart with warmth. “He’s so… Vanitas I’ve never felt this way about anyone.” 

“Sounds like,” Vanitas said. “I don’t remember you talking about anyone like this.” 

Sora nodded. “He’s just so… confident. And cool. But he’ll start blushing and it’s so cute. His eyes get all soft when he smiles. And Van! His eyes!! They’re so… I know you guys call him Mr. Amazing Eyes, but his eyes are so beautiful. Like—”

Sora struggled to describe them. He was pretty sure was no flower that could match them so then how— “Like… you remember the sea back home? The color of the ocean? That pure green-blue color? They’re like that. Just,  _ so beautiful _ . And his hair is silver like  _ starlight _ and he’s just—” Sora couldn’t help the grin that comes over his face. Riku was so… breathtakingly beautiful. Inside and out. 

He tried to share his happiness with Vanitas but was surprised to find his brother’s eyes wide in shock. “What?”

Vanitas blinked, looking away. At his feet, another Flood popped out of his shadow, tackling the first Flood to the ground. 

As the two Floods chased each other around the table, Sora reached out for his brother’s hand, squeezing softly. “You’re not okay. And  _ that’s _ okay. I just hoped that you would feel comfortable talking to me. Is it— are you mad I went on a date?” 

“No!” Vanitas quickly rejected that idea. “No, of course not! I want you to be happy. I just—” 

Vanitas stood suddenly, bending down only to break apart the two Floods fighting at his feet. He tossed one to Sora who caught it easily, cradling it in his arms. 

“I worry about you. Just had a feeling I should check up on you.” 

Sora smiled. "Worried about me? I  _ am _ older than you.” 

“Only by like, 20 minutes,” Vanitas grumbled. “I let you go first so I could make my grand entrance.” 

A laugh burst out of Sora. “Oh? And what was Roxas?” 

“An afterthought.” 

Sora laughed again, his mirth doing more to soothe the agitated Flood in his arms than anything else he could do. The Flood dissipated and soon the one in Vantias’s arms disappeared as well. “I don’t think Roxas would like that idea.” 

“He just can’t handle the truth that  _ I’m _ the most amazing of us.” Vanitas took his mug of tea and walked over to the couch. “C’mon. There’s this new show on the travel channel I think you’d like. It’s this guy, Jiminy, going around to different cities and finding the best stuff to do.” 

“Oh?” That sounded interesting. 

They watched the new episode together over a quick dinner of grilled cheese. Sora admitted that the show was quite interesting. He quickly figured out that Vanitas liked it because the host, Jiminy Cricket, also checked out the haunted and spooky locations of whatever city he was exploring. Vanitas always did like ghost stories. 

As they cleaned up their dishes in the sink, Sora noticed that the heather in his kitchen windowsill leaned towards Vanitas, as if trying to comfort him. 

“Are you sure you won’t stay?” Sora asked as Vanitas headed towards the door. 

Vanitas shook his head, offering Sora a small, sad smile. “Nah, it’s okay. I've got some work to do, and you know I always do my best work at night. I’ll see you later though. Okay?” 

Sora nodded and followed Vanitas downstairs, letting him out the door before locking it once more and returning to his apartment. He still felt a little uneasy and made a mental note to ask Ven about it later. Maybe if Sora, Ven, and Roxas all asked about it, Vanitas would tell them what was bothering him. 

For now though… 

Sora yawned and stretched, remembering his promise to meet Riku in the morning, feeling his heart beat faster at the thought. 

If he went to bed early, would it be morning faster? 

For the first time in a long time, he eagerly looked forward to sleep, mostly because he was looking forward to waking up in the morning.

——

He regretted his eagerness almost immediately as the first dream opened up on a barren battlefield, empty of even the Heartless he had gotten used to fighting night after night. Sora summoned his keyblade anyway. The empty battlefield was somehow even more unnerving than a full one. _ Where were they hiding?  _

*crack!* 

Instantly, Sora swung his keyblade up, a spell halfway out of his mouth. 

*clang!*

His keyblade hit a strong barrier of purple-colored magic. Sora frowned. It looked like dark magic, but it didn’t particularly  _ feel _ like dark magic. 

And it didn’t sound like his keyblade hit a barrier. But he couldn’t quite make out who— 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.” 

Instantly, the keyblade vanished from Sora’s hand at the voice. “Riku?” 

The barrier vanished, revealing silver hair, teal eyes, and a bashful smile. Beneath Riku’s feet was the branch he must have stepped on, the sound startling the battle-weary Sora. Once their gazes met, Riku opened his arms. Sora launched himself into those arms, and Riku instantly held him close.

“I’m telling you, Riku. Professional comforting is your true calling.” 

“But the only one I’d want to comfort is you.” 

Warmth filled Sora’s heart, and he closed his eyes, focusing on the rhythm of Riku’s breathing, the feeling of Riku’s hands on his back. Riku’s heartbeat was right under his ear. It was so soothing. 

A bit like a song. 

“Oh, you did it all on your own this time. I knew you could do it!” 

_ Huh?  _

Sora pulled away just enough to look at his surroundings, realizing belatedly that he was out of his armor and wearing a simple shirt and trousers instead. Which was good. Battleworn armor had no place in a world like this. 

He was pretty sure he and Riku were sitting on a cloud, bright rainbows surrounding them and what looked like mountain peaks in the distance. “Where—” 

There was a sudden poof to his left, but instead of the sudden fear Sora was used to feeling at surprises, he felt at ease. Especially when the poof of magic revealed Momo. The small bat circled around Sora once, landing on his shoulder and nuzzling into his cheek. 

“Oh, hello, Momo,” Sora chuckled. “Are you sleeping in my poppies again?”

The bat squeaked in response, letting out a strange sort of purr as it nuzzled in closer. 

“Is that where he’s been sleeping?” Riku asked, raising his hand to pet the bat. “No wonder you’re so rambunctious at work.” 

The bat screeched in reply, flapping over to settle on Riku’s shoulder instead. 

Sora giggled again at the image. Riku and Momo were rather cute together and made good dream weaver partners. A thought popped into his head, stopping his laughter. “Riku… you— are you really here?”

Riku pinked a bit, his eyes shifting away from meeting Sora’s. After taking a deep breath, he turned back to Sora, his eyes carefully guarded. 

“That’s up to you to decide. What does your heart say?” 

“I— uh—” His head still doubted. He knew the Dream Weavers’ power included Diving through the dreams of citizens to make sure the nightmares weren’t too strong. But why would Riku bother with being here with Sora? The date had been nice, but he didn’t think he was particularly worthy of a personal Dream Weaver visit. “I— uh—” 

Riku smiled. “You don’t have to answer. Just listen to your heart.” 

Sora grinned back, holding a hand to his chest. Despite what his head said, his heart was radiating with belief. Riku was here. Even if he wasn’t here physically, Riku was here in his heart. 

That was good enough. 

Riku looked around at their surroundings. “This is a pretty nice dream. Much better than earlier.” 

Sora shuddered but was glad when the battlefield did not return the way it usually did when he even thought about it. “Yeah, this is…  _ beautiful _ .” 

“Hmm, I wonder…”

Sora looked over when Riku trailed off, finding him pulling several colorful gems out of his pocket as well as something that looked both solid and mistlike at the same time. “What are those?” 

“Dream pieces.” Riku held up an oval colored gem that glimmered with teals and purples. When Sora leaned in closer to get a better view, Riku passed it over into his hand. 

Sora wrapped his fingers around it, frowning when it was difficult to do, the material neither soft nor hard. He felt it hum and vibrate with energy and magic. The gem was telling him something, filling him with—

_ Possibility. _

The gem was full of possibilities. 

“What do you use these for?” 

Riku grinned. “Usually we use them to weave dreams. Every stone is filled with energy, every mist with an emotion. Rub a few together, and you can get a dream. Or, in some cases, a Dream Eater Spirit.” 

At his shoulder, Momo screeched again, then flew away, launching himself into the sky and making several loop-de-loops among the clouds. 

“Do you want to make your own Dream Eater?” 

“Huh?” Sora looked up from the possibility gem. “Er… can I? Isn’t that against the rules a bit?” He thought only Dream Weavers could call forth Dream Eater Spirits. 

“Some rules can be broken.” Riku accompanied the statement with a wry grin that had Sora’s heart skipping a few beats. “Here. Pick out a couple of pieces and we’ll see what comes up.” 

“I— uh, okay.” Sora held onto the piece of possibility in his hand, then selected two smaller stones, orange and yellow, shining with a glow that was brighter than the others. “What now?” 

Riku cupped his hands around Sora’s, leaning in close until their foreheads were touching. “Close your eyes. Focus on your dreams. Channel them through the stones in your hand.” 

Sora did as Riku instructed, though part of him was a little confused. How could he focus his dreams if he was  _ in _ one? But he tried. His hopes and fears came together, and he imagined them going into the stones cradled in his hands. 

He felt the stones meld together, shifting and growing until they were too big to hold. With a gasp, Sora dropped them. The mist began to surround the stones, first forming a large body, then out of that body four stubby little legs. With a ‘ _ poof!’ _ something fell onto the cloud between Sora and Riku, bouncing just a bit before settling, then looking up at Sora with—

Sora’s heart melted. 

The creature was _ adorable. _ It had cute little cross-shaped eyes like Momo’s, but on a face that was adorably chubby, a cute muzzle and a large wriggling body that vibrated with the need for Sora’s attention. 

Attention that Sora was all too willing to give. 

“You’re so cute!!” he exclaimed without reservation, sitting down on the cloud beneath him. The creature eagerly bounced up into his lap, kissing Sora with a sandpapery tongue, its entire body wiggling in excitement. “Oh you’re so cute, yes you are. You’re so wonderful and adorable.” 

The creature yipped and barked, a strange sound that sounded like a cross between a dog and a cat. Sora didn’t care what it was. It was _ adorable.  _

He heard Riku chuckling above him. “I wasn’t expecting that, but I think he likes you.” 

“I like him! Why wouldn’t I? He’s adorable!!” 

Riku’s laugh grew louder. “I meant that the Dream Eater likes  _ you, _ silly. It’s a type known as a Meow Wow.” 

“Oh,” Sora laughed, petting the Dream Eater in his arms. “What’s his name?” 

Riku’s chuckles continued as he bent down. “You created him. What do you want to name him?” 

“Oh, um…” Sora thought about it. Growing up, his siblings never let him name any of their shared pets, saying that he always gave the worst names. But this was his chance! He didn’t want to screw it up. 

“Potato!” 

The creature squeaked in joy and covered Sora in sandpapery kisses again. Sora laughed and petted Potato’s soft fur gently. He glanced up at Riku who was staring at him in a mix of amusement and confusion. “What?” 

“Potato?” 

Potato yipped at his name and ran over to Riku, eager for more pets. Riku chuckled and petted Potato’s cheeks before rubbing across his back. Potato squeaked and wiggled, falling onto his back and rolling around in joy. Riku’s laughter grew louder and he turned back to Sora, amusement shining in his eyes. “Why Potato?” 

“Why ‘Momo’?” Sora countered, shrugging. “Potato blossoms symbolize benevolence. Besides, then his nickname can be Tater-Tot. And who doesn’t want a Dream Eater pet named Tater-Tot?”

Riku laughed, hiding his grin in Potato’s fur. “Okay. Fair point.” 

Momo soon returned from his flight and the two Dream Eaters began to play among the clouds, chasing each other around exactly as real animals would. Sora crawled till he was close to Riku’s side and leaned against him. “They’re so…  _ cute _ . How are they different from Nightmares?” 

“Nightmares feed on the good spirits. They feast on good dreams and only give nightmares in return.” Riku wrapped an arm around Sora, pulling him closer. “In small doses, Nightmares aren’t harmful and can be beneficial. But in large doses…” 

Sora frowned when Riku trailed off. “Like the Nightmares in the real world? The ones attacking people? How can they appear outside of dreams?” 

Riku frowned, and he looked away from where the Dream Eaters were playing. “If someone calls on them. Or if someone has a really, really strong nightmare. But even then, it’s rare for them to manifest night after night, and these are so strong. I think it’s a mix of someone who has bad nightmares anyway messing with something that gives those nightmares shape and form.” 

“But then… shouldn’t you be out there helping the people?” Sora glanced away. “You really should. That’s your job. My nightmares aren’t worth you coming here. Really, I—” 

“You’re worth everything, Sora,” Riku said, placing a gentle hand on Sora’s face. “And don’t worry about it, okay? Your nightmares were terrible…” 

Sora looked up at Riku’s sincere gaze, and he was hit with a sudden urge to talk about it. “They’re based on real memories of a battle I was in. During the war with the witch.”

“Maleficent?”

“Is there another dark witch?” Sora tried to joke about it, but his heart seized up, the fear and trepidation suddenly almost palpable. He clenched his fist and suddenly, Potato was back at his side, nuzzling until he was curled up in Sora’s lap. Sora began to run a hand through Potato’s fur, finding the soft sounds the creature made in response comforting. Momo settled in nearby in Riku’s lap, seemingly stelling down to sleep. Riku’s arm squeezed Sora’s waist gently in encouragement, and Sora found the fortitude to go on. 

“You know, I mean, it didn’t affect Radiant Garden that much. It was so far away from the front. But the war with Maleficent would have affected the town eventually. It had already affected my island home with terrible storms and these creatures that just appeared. The—” Sora swallowed around his dry throat. Why was this so hard to talk about? 

“The heartless,” Riku said. “I know.” 

Sora nodded. “Yeah. My brothers and I… we wanted to do what we could to save our home. Ven was already an excellent elemental magic user, and Roxas’s light magic was perfect against the dark magic that was focused on attacking us. They wouldn’t let Vanitas fight near the front. He— his element is darkness and they were afraid that he would be consumed by the heartless and shadows completely if they let him near there. So he was held back… and he was not happy about that.” 

Sora smiled a little when he remembered Vani’s irritation and the number of Floods that had appeared when he had been told he would not be allowed to fight with his brothers. “But for me… There wasn’t much use for a plant mage on the front lines, so instead, I joined with other keyblade wielders and learned battle magic. Basic elemental magic, but mostly spells so that I could use to strike quicker, faster, and with more strength. I—” 

Sora clenched his fist, but Potato licked the tense fingers until Sora could breathe again. “I was very, very good at it.” 

“I think you would be good at anything you choose to do.” 

Sora glanced up at Riku, finding nothing but understanding and concern in his gaze. “Thanks… I was sent to the front lines quickly, to take out the heartless. We… we didn’t know that the heartless were— were—” 

The pleasant clouds and rainbows began to melt away into the battlefield once more. This time, the field was full of heartless, though instead of Sora himself defeating them, it was like they were watching a movie with the sound off. A memory version of Sora, decked out in his Keyblade armor, ran from heartless to heartless. Sora hated the look in the eyes of this other memory version. His eyes were steeled and hard, and Sora didn’t quite recognize himself. His Keyblade struck any heartless that lunged at him, and with every blow, and every heartless defeated, a small, pink heart rose from the smoking body, A perfect bright glow that would rise up into the air and vanish. 

“We didn’t know those were  _ people! _ ” Sora finished, unable to resist trying to catch the hearts of the fallen heartless nearby.  _ Stop! Come back! _

_ I didn’t mean to! _

“But, Sora,” Riku reached out and pulled Sora back in for a hug. “You didn’t destroy them. Just their heartless. Their hearts found their bodies again and became whole. You saved them.”

Sora hiccuped a sob, his tears dampening Riku’s shirt. “Not everyone. Some of them never came back. What if I—?” 

“You did what you were told and you did the best you could do,” Riku said, pulling away just enough to kiss Sora’s forehead. “Those who blamed the keyblade wielders, blamed you? They don’t know what they’re talking about. They weren’t there. You were so bright when you cut through the darkness. Maleficent didn’t know what was coming. You were so amazing.”

“But every heart that was released… it just brought her closer to what she was after.” Sora said. “I barely stopped her in time. I— I had to destroy her…” 

The battlefield shifted, becoming the courtyard of a large dark castle that sat on the edges of the known world. A terrifying, crumbling thing that had been the place of Maleficent’s banishment. Where she had waited and planned, creating her army of heartless and building the bridge that would draw out what she most desired. Above the courtyard was a beautiful and  _ terrible _ heart-shaped moon. 

“She wanted to call upon Kingdom Hearts,” Riku murmured. “But you stopped her.” 

“I—” Sora nodded. “Yes. I was the first to cut through her army. I met her in the courtyard, and I— She—” 

He didn’t need to say more when he heard the roar of a dragon. A roar that haunted him sometimes even in his wakeful hours. He couldn’t even look at snapdragons without hearing it. 

“You were amazing though. A bright light that cut through the darkness.” 

Sora frowned at Riku’s phrasing. “You keep saying that. That I was amazing and light. It sounds like you were there.” 

It didn’t seem possible. He was pretty sure he would have remembered Riku among the other Keyblade wielders or among the elemental warriors that Ven and Roxas hung out with. So how—

His thoughts were interrupted by Riku’s own unsure look. Then the man held out his hand. “Trust me?” 

Sora took it without hesitation. “Of course.” 

He felt a tugging sensation as the dream  _ shifted _ . They had been watching the battle from the castle wall, but once the sensation receded, Sora found that he and Riku had moved to the castle entrance. The sounds of Maleficent’s roar and clangs of Sora’s keyblade echoed around the courtyard behind them. 

“You’re in my dreams now,” Riku explained. He held an arm out, and Momo flew up to grip his forearm for a brief moment before both Riku and Momo glowed. When the light faded, Sora saw that Riku had a pair of bright purple and blue wings, as well as the sharp claws he remembered from another nightmare. 

“Oh… you and Momo—”

“It’s easier for me to protect you like this,” Riku explained hurriedly. “I’m just... Borrowing Momo’s power. But bringing you into my dreams can be dangerous and—” 

Sora reached out, touching the soft leathery skin of one wing. “I think it’s amazing.” 

Riku’s face reddened before breaking out into a soft girn. “Anyway… Here…” 

Sora took Riku’s offered hand, struggling not to notice just how much bigger it seemed, or how sharp but gentle the claws felt on his skin. He followed Riku deeper into the castle, Potato the Meow Wow at his heels, yipping at any dark shadow that dared cross their path. They traveled behind the courtyard and to a doorway that they passed through, leading to a large open chamber. 

A chamber filled with people. 

At first, Sora's heart dropped, thinking they were all dead. But then he heard a loud rush, like a gust of wind. But the chamber was enclosed by tall walls and the door shut behind them. So how—

He heard the loud gust of wind again and realized it was the sound of several people breathing in unison. 

“They’re… asleep?” Sora glanced around. There were people all over the chamber, of every age and gender. Some were propped on stone benches, while others littered the floors. 

And all of them were sleeping. 

Riku nodded and carefully made his way deeper into the chamber, his wings trailing the ground as he walked over and around the unconscious people. Sora followed in his footsteps. Though this was just a dream, he didn’t want to step on anyone. 

Towards the back of the chamber were two sleeping boys with long silver hair. Their arms were tangled up as if they had been fighting over who would protect the other before they fell asleep. 

Sora recognized that silver hair. “It’s you! And Rikuto!”

Riku nodded. “We had been sent undercover as spies. But Rikuto got in too deep, and I wanted to pull us both out. Maleficent caught us. She said that because we would be… useful to her plans after she opened Kingdom Hearts, she would let us live rather than turn us into heartless. This is the chamber of enchanted sleep. Where she kept all those she wanted to…  _ preserve… _ ” 

Suddenly, there was a roar right outside the chamber, as well as a loud crash. Light began to seep under the heavy doors, growing stronger until the doors burst open, filling the darkened chamber with light. Around him, Sora could hear the yawns and groans of people waking up.

Blinking, Sora struggled to peer through the brightness, startled to find that it emanated from himself. The memory version of him that had just defeated Maleficent’s dragon form. 

He was  _ radiant. _

“Your light woke us up.” 

Sora shook his head. “Don’t be silly, Roxas is the light mage. I’m just—” 

“You’re  _ not _ just anything.” 

Riku’s clawed fingers gently cradled his own. “The first thing I remembered after waking up was a warm, pure light. Your light. From here.” One of Riku’s hands laid directly over Sora’s heart. 

Sora gasped, feeling new tears fall onto over his cheeks. “But— I—” 

“I’ll never stop saying it, even after we wake. You are amazing, Sora. Don’t let anyone ever make you feel otherwise. Okay?” 

Sora nodded. "Okay… but you know. It won’t take the dreams away.” 

“I know,” Riku acknowledged, moving his hand so it cradled Sora’s face instead. “So… I guess I’ll just have to stick close by. I’ll be your personal Dream Eater and help you face the nightmares.” 

Sora giggled, leaning in close and nuzzling into Riku’s hand. Around them, the dream began to fade and fall apart, and Sora felt like he was waking up. He grabbed the hand that was still cradling his face, feeling sharp claws fade back into human fingernails. “Riku… I—” 

Before he could get another word out, the dream faded completely and Sora was alone, blinking awake as the bright morning light filtered into his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings_  
Dandelions - Happiness in the face of adversity  
Canary Grass - Hardworking  
Marjoram - Blushes  
Acacia - chaste love & friendship  
Saxifrage - Affection  
Lunaria (also called Honesty) - Fascination/Honesty  
Ranunculus - You are radiant with charms  
Weeping Willow - Melancholy   
Bluets - Contentment  
Asphodel - My regrets follow you to the grave  
Allysum - bliss  
Heather - Solitude   
Potato - Benevolence  
Momo (Peach) - Generosity  
Snapdragons - Deception
> 
> (Also, kind of a dumb thing, but I enjoyed looking it up: Sora used the A-Rank recipe for a Meow Wow when he made Potato with 1 Malleable Fantasy and 2 Vibrant Fancy.)


	6. Chamomile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> r

Sora blinked against the bright light in his room, rubbing under his eyes. What a weird dr—

_ “Cree!!” _

Suddenly there was a brightly colored ball of fuzz in his face and the sound of wings flapping above him. 

Sora gasped. “Momo?” 

Momo let out another excited “Cree!” and landed on Sora’s shoulder, nuzzling his face into Sora’s cheek. 

A giggle escaped Sora's throat as he raised a hand to gently pet Momo’s soft fuzzy body. “Hey! Decided to stick around tonight? Or—” 

Suddenly the images from the dream came back to him. Riku showing Sora his own memories of the battle and— 

_ “Riku… you— are you really here?” _

_ “What does your heart say?” _

While still petting Momo with one hand, Sora raised the other to his chest, right over his heart. 

Riku was there. It made sense. As a Dream Weaver, Riku would have the power to do that. But why? 

Momo let out another sound, this one more concerned than his last and Sora offered him a smile. “I’m okay, little guy. I just… Do you and Riku enter my dreams at night?”

“Cree?” Momo stared up at him, his eyes shifting between yellow crosses and blue ‘u’ shapes. 

Sora laughed, a bit confused by the eye change, but given that Momo didn’t seem concerned, he figured it must be something Dream Eaters did. He would have to ask Riku. 

Sora suddenly froze, glancing at the clock. 

6:45 am. 

“Shit! I have to meet Riku in fifteen minutes!” 

Sora leaped out of bed, stumbling across the floor to his dresser to pull out clothes before racing to the bathroom to quickly change. 

By the time he was relocking the door to his shop, taping a hastily written note to the door saying that he’d be back by lunch, it was 6:55. 

Surprisingly, Momo stuck close by him, letting out encouraging cries while Sora had fumbled through an abbreviated morning routine and ran out the door. The tiny bat continued to fly behind Sora as he sprinted, a bouquet of pink dianthus clutched tightly in his hand. He had almost left without flowers, but these ones had called out to him this morning, and he couldn’t ignore a call like that. 

_ Pure love. _

He knew that it was way too early to be thinking about being in love. He had only known Riku for a few days. But his heart pounded in his ears at the thought. _ Love _. He had told Vanitas last night that he had never felt this way about anyone. Maybe this was just what true love felt like? Like you had known someone your whole life after just a few days. Like you would do anything for them, so comfortable in their arms that you couldn’t imagine finding a home anywhere else. 

Maybe it was too soon to say the words. But Sora knew it in his heart. 

He loved Riku. As a friend and as someone he’d want to spend the rest of his life with. 

He just… 

Momo let out another excited sound, evidently just as joyous as Sora. 

Sora laughed at himself, feeling a little silly, but also suddenly understanding what some of his customers like Cinderella and Aurora had said when they met their significant others. 

They just knew. Knew that this person was the one. 

Sora felt that now. He just hoped that Riku felt the same. 

He sprinted down the sidewalk, barely pausing to look both ways before crossing the street. Using abilities he had gained in the war, he dodged around pedestrians and leaped over park benches. Without looking, he felt that the dianthus flowers in his hand were radiating, the pink color that gave them their common name “Pink” practically radiant in the early morning light. 

Finally, he passed the ice cream store he and Riku had eaten at just last night. As soon as he reached the corner, he realized with a jolt of dismay that he had no idea where Morpheus, Inc. headquarters was located. He had planned to look up Riku’s place of work last night but with Vanitas’s unexpected visit he had forgotten. 

Momo let out a quiet little “_c__ree” _ and flew around a corner. 

Right. Momo would know where Riku was! 

Sora followed, keeping an eye on the little bat as he ran. 

Eventually, Momo slowed down, landing on heavy iron-wrought gates with the words “_ Morpheus Incorporated _” emblazoned on them. The gates themselves were elaborate, looking like a huge mosaic with a large keyhole right in the center. 

And just on the other side of the gate, was Riku. 

“You made it!” Riku said, running up to the gate. . 

Sora had to bend over as he caught his breath, but as soon as he did, he offered Riku a large grin of his own. “Yeah. Sorry. I, uh, overslept a bit.” 

Riku laughed, pushing the gate open a bit to slip through. “Yeah, I figured. When I came out of the dream, Naminé said that it was nearly time for me to leave and that Rikuto had ducked out early.”

“Oh?” Sora blinked. “Wait, you spent your whole shift in my dreams? Riku! What about your job and—” 

Riku raised a finger to his lips with a grin. “Shh… trust me, spending time with you was a bit… self-serving but relevant to what I’ve been tasked with.” 

Sora frowned, not entirely sure of Riku’s truthfulness, but also immensely grateful for his intervention in his dreams. He offered his bouquet. “Here! These, uh… called out to me this morning.” 

Riku’s eyes lit up at the flowers, and he took them gently. “Wow! What were they calling out?” 

“Uh,” Sora stumbled over the word ‘love’. It really was silly to admit that this early on in the relationship but— “Admiration. And uh, make haste? I really wanted to see you…. And they also wished me luck racing across town.”

Riku laughed again, wrapping Sora up in a brief hug, careful not to crush the flowers. Pulling away, he took Sora’s hand and pulled him through the gate. “I love them. And I’m glad you got here safely. There’s someone who wants to see you.” 

“Huh? Who—” 

Sora was cut off by a loud yip and a squeal. With a poof of smoke, Sora suddenly found himself on his back as Potato jumped on him, throwing off his balance. 

“What?!” Sora was astonished. He petted soft, warm blue fur and laughed at Potato’s excitement, the Dream Eater’s body wiggling and his tongue licking Sora’s face in affection. “How—?” 

“I told you your dreams were strong.” Riku sat down on the ground, helping restrain Potato enough so that Sora could sit up. “Potato was able to manifest in the real world when I woke up. Caused a bit of a stir with my boss.” 

Sora swallowed around his suddenly dry throat. “Are you in trouble”?” 

“Nah. I’ve made too much progress with this case by working with you. Besides, Yen Sid has always been intrigued when someone with no Dream Weaving training is able to call upon a Dream Eater.” 

Sora grinned but thought about Riku’s words. “So… I _ am _ related to the case you’re working on.” 

Riku let out a quiet sigh, taking a seat on the ground next to Sora and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “We’re still not sure. You have very strong dreams. Which also means you have very strong nightmares.” 

_ Oh… _Sora felt his heart drop and he leaned into Riku’s warmth. “If I’m the reason—” 

“We’re going to figure out what’s going on,” Riku promised, giving Sora’s shoulders another squeeze. “But, for now… do you want a tour of my work?” 

Sora glanced up at Riku in confusion, finding the other’s face bright red. 

“Uh… Rikuto may have let it slip that you and I were on a date last night… and now my coworkers want to meet you.” 

“Oh?” Sora stood up, Potato rolling off of him. He offered a hand to Riku who took it and stood up as well. “Uh, sure! And I can see Naminé and Xion right?” 

“Yeah, they’re still working the morning shift.” 

Riku kept a hold on Sora’s hand as they walked back to the building where Morpheus, Inc. was located. It was a large tower structure, full of windows shaped like stars and crescent moons. 

“This is where you work?” Sora gasped as they walked inside. Riku waved at a small older woman at the front desk, a red polka-dot bow holding her short bobbed black hair in place. 

“Hey, Minnie! I’m just taking Sora up to the office for a second, okay?” Riku let go of Sora’s hand briefly to pass the pinks over to the woman. “Can you watch these for a moment?” 

Minnie covered a giggle with a hand before nodding and taking a hold of the bouquet. “Alright, Riku. Though I hope you head home afterward. You’ve been working nonstop!” 

“I will!” Riku promised, walking back over to take Sora’s hand, squeezing it softly. He leaned in and lowered his voice for Sora’s ears only. “Now I’ve got a pretty good reason to leave work if I can come to see you.” 

Sora felt the blood rush to his face and he quickly looked away, avoiding Riku’s teasing grin. “You should have other reasons to want to leave work. But I won’t say no to you coming to visit in the morning.” 

Riku laughed as they entered the elevator. He snapped his fingers, a spark of blue magic flickering briefly before a voice rang out in the elevator. 

“Magical signature verified. Aren’t you supposed to be leaving, Riku?” 

“I’m bringing a guest up to meet some coworkers,” Riku said aloud, and Sora giggled at the eye roll that accompanied his words. “Honestly, the elevators were nice at one point. But after some months of sentience, they started to get sassy.” 

The elevator’s voice seemed to sigh as it closed its doors and moved upwards. “I am not _ sassy _. I am an elevator.” 

Sora’s laugh grew louder. “So… there’s not like a tiny person in here somewhere?” 

“Nah, they’re just enchanted.” Riku glanced up. “At least… I’m pretty sure they haven’t grown a physical being recently.” 

“Alas, I’m afraid I still only go up and down.” The elevator voice responded. “Though if you could ask Master Yen Sid to make it so I could also go side to side? 

“Would you still be an elevator if you did that?” Sora wondered aloud. The only response he got was a loud sigh as the elevator slowed to a stop. 

“They hate it when you ask existential questions,” Riku confided as they existed. 

“Next time you can take the stairs!” The elevator called back before its doors closed. 

“You know, it’s not nice to tease the elevator,” another voice called out, this one familiar to Sora. “They _ will _ make you take the stairs one day.”

“Xion!” Sora exclaimed, turning to the girl in enthusiasm. At his heels, Potato yipped excitedly as well, evidently in tune with his emotions. “Hey! How are you?!” 

“I’m fine! Though I’m surprised that it took dating my coworker to get you to come visit me at work,” Xion teased, waving her finger in admonishment. “I had to hear from Kairi and Roxas that you had even met Riku.” 

“Well, I uh… it’s been an eventful week!” Sora exclaimed, laughing when Xion let out a dramatic sigh. “So how have you and Naminé been? I didn’t realize that you guys worked in such an amazing building? Does Kairi come to visit?” 

“Sometimes,” Xion said, waving for them to follow her. “It is a really cool building. Besides the enchanted elevators, we also have brooms that clean up after us.” 

“Really?!” Sora glanced around, spotting what had to have been a pair the brooms that Xion was talking about. They were sweeping near another cubicle, moving around on their own. Then one of the brooms sprouted arms and picked up a bag from the nearby dustbin. The two brooms walked off, their bristles separating into what appeared to be a pair of stubby legs. 

Sora couldn’t help the astonished gasp that escaped him. “Wow! That’s awesome!”

Even though he had grown up around all kinds of magic, there were still some things that always amazed him. Self-cleaning brooms would have made his mom’s life a lot easier when raising four boys. 

“It does make for easy clean up some days,” another familiar voice added. “How are you, Sora?” 

“Naminé!” Sora offered her a grin as well. “I’m alright, work is steady. Met the most handsome guy I think I’ll ever meet.” 

He heard Riku choke behind him, and Naminé covered a laugh with a delicate pale hand. 

“Well, I’m pretty sure he thinks you're handsome as well. These days, he always comes into work sighing about you a bit.” 

“Naminé!” Riku protested. “I do not!” 

“You totally do!” Xion noted with a laugh of her own. “Yen Sid had to call on you three times in a meeting because you were sighing over Sora.” 

“Not— Well... “ Riku sputtered for words, his face reddening and, eventually, he let out a long sigh. “Can it stop being ‘tease Riku hours’ now?” 

“But we just started!” Xion protested with a laugh. “I suppose I can let you off the hook for now though. I have to get back to memory scrying anyway. But don’t think we’re done teasing you yet. Now that you’re dating Sora, that just means you’ll see us more often when we go to hang out with Sora and his brothers.” 

“That’s right!” Naminé agreed. “You have to come to the Islands now when we go on vacation every year!” 

“I, uh…” Riku trailed off, rubbing the back of his head.

“I would love it if you came on vacation with us,” Sora offered with a smile. The thought of Riku hanging out with him and family and friends while visiting their island beach was a pleasant image. 

The thought of Riku in a swimsuit was an even better image. 

“So, this is the young man you were so eager to see this morning?” 

Sora jerked around at the sudden voice, finding himself facing a very long white beard. When he glanced up to see who owned the beard, he was met with a pair of beady black eyes staring down on him. Instinctively, Sora backed up into Riku, a little unnerved by that gaze. Riku placed a comforting hand on Sora’s back, before bowing deeply to the old man, Naminé following suit. 

Feeling a bit awkward, Sora waved. 

“Good morning, sir,” Riku said as he straightened again. “And, uh… yes. This is Sora. Sora, this is my boss. Master Yen Sid.” 

“Oh,” Sora nodded. “Good morning! It’s nice to meet you.” 

Yen Sid stroked his impressive beard in thought. “Sora? I believe I have heard of you.” 

“You have?!” Sora squeaked. Was that good or bad?

“You trained under Master Eraqus, correct?” Yen Sid raised an eyebrow. “His best pupil, if I recall?” 

Rubbing a hand behind his head, Sora tried to laugh off the compliment. “I— uh, I’m not sure I was that great. Mostly just lucky.” 

“You did well. And we are grateful for your service.”

The words sent a spark of shock through Sora. He hadn’t— His brothers had told him he was great, and of course his parents said they were proud. But… a stranger had never said that they were grateful to him. For what he had done. Sora gulped, stumbling over his response. “I… I’m grateful too. If it means I met Riku, then… I’m glad.” 

He felt Riku wrap an arm around his waist in comfort and Sora leaned into the embrace, a little self-conscious with Riku’s boss. 

Yen Sid’s stare softened a bit, and he turned to Naminé. “Have you finished your memory reconstruction from the victims of the attack on the night club?” 

Naminé nodded. “Nearly, sir. Just a few more sketches. Xion is extracting them now.” 

“Very well. And Riku? I know you’re off, but Rikuto mentioned he was running down a lead before heading home. I trust that you two have been hard at work.” 

“Yes. I think we’re very close to finding out why the Nightmares are manifesting in the real world so strongly. Were there any attacks last night?” 

“A small one in the park,” Yen Sid admitted. “But it vanished nearly the same moment you dove into the sleeping realm. I imagine your Dream Weaving helped?” 

Sora felt his face and neck heat up when both Yen Sid and Riku glanced at him for a brief moment before Riku nodded. 

Yen Sid inclined his head in return. “Very well. I shall await your report this evening. Have a good day.” 

He walked away with a grace that Sora was sure he could never achieve no matter how old he’d get. Sora turned to Riku with a sigh. “You sure this isn’t my fault somehow? My nightmares are really bad. What if—?” 

“We still don’t know if the Nightmares are related to you or not, Sora,” Naminé reassured him. “But Riku and Rikuto are the best Dream Weavers we have. If anyone can find out, they can.” 

“And we will,” Riku promised, shifting so he tugged at Sora’s hand. “C’mon. I wanna show you something else.” 

They waved at Naminé as she returned to work and Sora followed Riku down a hallway to another doorway. 

Riku snapped his fingers and the sound of a ‘click!’ indicated that the door unlocked. “This is mine and Rikuto’s private office.” 

There were two desks inside, one messier than the other, both built from sturdy wood and stained dark mahogany. In the back corner was a large pillow that reminded Sora of a dog bed. It was much too large for Momo, and Sora realized that Rikuto might have a Dream Eater partner as well. It seemed likely that it was much larger than Momo. 

Covering the walls were a hodgepodge of bits of paper and notes taped in some kind of order, along with several pictures of the monsters Sora recognized as Nightmares. As Riku closed the door behind them, Sora spotted a dartboard with several darts in it.

“Do you guys get bored sometimes?” Sora teased, pointing at the dartboard. 

“Oh. That was a gift from our coworkers. We have to use to it settle our disagreements sometimes.” 

Sora laughed, looking around some more. One of the desks was neat, papers nicely stacked and several pens contained in a holder, ready for use. Sora almost thought that would have been Riku’s desk, except Riku walked over to the much messier desk, the papers piled more haphazardly and the pens scattered across the dark surface. There were also multiple used coffee mugs, a few plates stacked up from lunches, and several jackets laid across the back of the chair. 

Riku coughed. “Sorry… I meant to clean and I, uh… forgot.” 

Sora laughed. “It’s alright. It’s like your own personal nest.” 

At the word nest, Momo let out a screech and landed amongst the papers, settling in like he belonged. Potato yipped and wandered over as well, sniffing at some of the papers and books that had fallen onto the floor. 

“Potato! Leave Riku’s stuff alone!” Sora knelt down to pick up some of the pictures, listening as Riku moved a few of the coffee mugs out of the way. When he stood back up, Sora spotted something out of the corner of his eye. 

It was a news article of some kind, accompanying a picture of Riku and Rikuto. It must have been an older photograph, as Riku’s hair was longer than it was now. 

The caption read that the young men were receiving their Dream Weaving certification, the article mentioning that they were the first of the dozen or so Dream Weaving students that had once been under Maleficent’s cursed sleep. 

Sora remembered the dream from Riku’s point of view. Sleeping in the castle chamber. 

“It… was true! You really did bring me into your dreams. You… were there the whole time!” 

He heard Riku hum in acknowledgment, “Yeah… I thought you knew that already?”

Heat rushed to Sora’s face. He had realized that earlier. Just this morning in fact. It shouldn’t be so surprising _ now. _ “Oh… yeah.” 

Potato let out another yip as if trying to remind Sora of his presence as well. Of course, if Riku hadn’t been in his dreams, how would Potato have been created? Sora chuckled self-consciously and leaned down to pet Potato behind the ears. 

Riku grinned and pulled the picture off the wall. “Rikuto and I had slipped into the sleeping realm while we were asleep, and manage to train ourselves in how to create and summon Dream Eaters and navigate the realm’s pathways. It barely took us a month to pass our certification and Yen Sid hired us immediately.” 

He hung the picture back up on the wall. “And it’s thanks to you that it was even possible in the first place.” 

Sora nodded absently, not really understanding why it wasn’t until he saw the picture of Riku that it finally sunk in that Riku, _ the real Riku, _ had entered his dreams at night. But now that the thought had fully solidified, he couldn’t _ stop _ thinking about it. Riku had been saving him from his nightmares. And… judging by how well Sora had slept for the past few nights—

Riku had been rescuing him ever since they’d met. Keeping him safe from the nightmares that had haunted him for months. 

Sora felt tears prick at his eyes, and turned back to Riku with a grin. “So… my personal Dream Eater, right?” 

Riku smiled, nodding. “I promise to always keep you safe from nightmares. As long as you’ll be my personal light.” 

Sora hiccuped, unable to stop the tears of joy and relief now. “Yeah. For as long as you need.” 

“Always, then,” Riku said, pulling away just enough to kiss Sora softly. 

Sora could live with that. 

—

They held hands the entire walk back to the shop, Momo flying above them. Potato had vanished once they had left the grounds of Morpheus, Inc., but Riku promised that the Meow Wow would return to Sora’s dreams. 

“Most Dream Eaters can’t exist for long in the waking world,” Riku explained. “Not without either an extensive magical field around them… or if they have a strong connection to their Dream Weaver partner.” 

Momo let out another screech and landed on Riku’s head, his wings relaxing so they covered Riku’s hair like a strange hat. Sora burst out in laughter while Riku raised his free hand to pet Momo’s head. 

“Finally got tired of flying?” Riku asked, chuckling when Momo let out a tired screech in answer. 

“He can rest while we eat!” Sora said, raising his own hand to pet one of Momo’s leathery wings. “I’ve got more poppies in the shop if he wants a bed. I gotta pick up my wallet anyway so I can pay for breakfast. I forgot it in my rush this morning!” 

“I can—” 

“This is me taking you out on a date,” Sora reaffirmed, squeezing Riku’s hand. “I got you flowers, and now I’ll take you out to breakfast.” 

Riku squeezed back. “Okay.” 

Sora grinned and swung their hands, so content at this moment. They passed by Tiana’s diner, and Sora could already smell the pancakes in the air. His stomach grumbled audibly. Maybe he would get pancakes today? Or waffles? Tiana’s beignets were always a good choice too or—

“Cree?” 

Suddenly Momo took off, fluttering into the alleyway next to Sora’s shop. Shortly afterward, there was a louder, more agitated screech and a loud crash. 

“Momo?” Riku shouted, taking off after his Dream Eater. Sora followed, ducking into the narrow space between the two buildings. Despite the bright morning, the shadows in the alleyway meant that they could barely see what Momo was fighting. Sora could make out the brightly colored bat as it flapped in the face of some tall figure. They were wearing a dark red cloak and brown boots but Sora couldn’t make out any other features. 

“Scree!” 

Momo released some kind of energy at the figure, stunning them for a moment before they struck out with a fist, knocking into the bat. 

Momo let out a pained screech when he hit the wall. 

“Momo!” Riku shouted, running deeper into the alleyway. 

The mysterious person seemed to have caught sight of Sora and a very angry Riku. After a moment of hesitation, the person turned and ran down the alleyway. 

“I got them, you look after Momo!” Riku shouted as he sprinted after the figure. 

Sora thought that the person would be caught by the chain-link fence that divided the alleyway between Sora’s side and the side of the building right behind his shop. To his surprise though, they easily scaled it, dropping over to the other side. 

Riku didn’t hesitate in his pursuit. He jumped, sticking to the side of Sora’s shop for half a second before leaping again and clearing the fence with ease. The figure reached the end of the alleyway, running out into the street on the other side with barely a glance at the oncoming traffic. 

As Riku let out another shout and followed, disappearing from view, Sora knelt down to Momo, checking on the tiny bat. 

Momo let out a tired little scree at Sora’s touch but perked up as Sora petted him. 

“Did they hurt you, Momo?” Sora asked, gently picking the bat up and cradling him close. “You’re gonna be okay. Heal.” 

At his command, green healing magic covered his hand, seeping into Momo’s fur and body as Sora petted the Dream Eater. 

It was the one spell Sora would be forever grateful that he learned. Even if it was in battle magic training. 

Momo made another quiet sound, nuzzling into Sora’s shirt for comfort. Sora continued to gently pet the bat. 

“Is he okay?” 

Sora gasped and turned, finding Riku climbing the fence, landing gracefully next to him. 

Nodding, Sora held Momo out to Riku, but Riku only stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Sora’s waist and joining Sora in petting the bat. 

“Did you get them?” Sora asked quietly, frowning when Riku shook his head. 

“They jumped into a dark car and sped off.” 

“A getaway car?” Sora’s frown deepened. “What were they doing back here that they would need a getaway car?” 

Riku shook his head and shrugged. “Drugs maybe? Or… this is your shop, right?” 

Sora nodded. “Yeah. But I don’t use the alleyway that often.” 

“Maybe he was trying to break in?” But Riku sounded skeptical of that idea as well. He took a step closer to the door that served as the alleyway entrance to Sora’s shop. “What about this door?” 

“I rarely use it. I like to walk through the shop before I leave. So—” Sora cut off as he felt something, a faint energy calling out to him. 

Silently, he passed Momo over to Riku, the bat barely noticing as he was passed to his Dream Weaver. Sora knelt down to the ground, the energy feeling minutely stronger. 

It almost felt like the melancholy of falling autumn leaves. Or the faint traces of love found in the dried bouquets leftover from weddings long ago. A sort of residual flower energy that came from—

Sora spotted it. A… well, he wouldn’t call it a bouquet, but definitely a bundle of flowers, dried and preserved. They had been tied in a square of dark grey cloth, but apparently, the knot had come loose in the scuffle with Momo, and now the flowers and herbs were scattered across the ground. Gently, Sora gathered them up. A few sprigs of enchanters’ nightshade, witch hazel, a couple of ivory-colored dried poppy flowers, and a single frond of a royal fern. 

A spell, sleep… and… dreams? Sora couldn’t figure out why someone would leave them at his back door. 

“Sora? I think there’s another one here.” 

Sora shuffled over to where Riku pointed, discovering another dark grey bundle, this one knotted tightly, but he figured the contents would be the same. As Sora picked it up, he spotted yet another bundle under a few old boards he had taken out here ages ago when he had refurbished the shop and the apartment upstairs. 

“What are these things?” Sora wondered aloud, peering closely at the bundle. There was some kind of marking on it, but he couldn’t see what it said. “Hang on, can we go back out to the street?” 

Riku nodded and they re-emerged next to the entrance of Sora’s shop. In the daylight, Sora could make out the marking better, though it was faded. A sort of heart-shape with jagged edges. 

“Vanitas?” Sora muttered aloud. It certainly looked like his brother’s magical signature. 

“Do you recognize it?”

Sora nodded. “Yeah, I think this came from my brother’s shop… but…”

He trailed off. Why would someone place something his brother made at his back door? Vanitas specialized in curse breaking, not casting. It didn’t make sense. 

“We could go ask him,” Riku suggested. “I… have a feeling that this might be connected to your nightmares. That’s why Momo reacted so strongly.” 

Sora hummed and put the bundles in his pocket, then gently patted Momo’s back. “You feeling better, buddy?” 

Momo trilled, flapping out of Riku’s grasp to settle in Sora’s hair instead. Sora laughed. “I guess that’s a yes?” 

Riku smiled as well, reaching up to pet the bat. “Now he’s just craving attention.” 

“Oh, well, he’s a good bat so he can get all the attention he wants. Oh! Does he want a treat?” Sora tilted his head, feeling Momo adjust his weight to stay balanced. “Do Dream Eaters have treats?”

At the word treats, Momo let out another trill. 

Riku laughed. “I don’t have any with me, bud.” 

“Oh…” Sora sighed, trying to think about how to have their date, figure out this mystery, and give Momo his well-deserved treat. 

An idea sprang to mind. “Wait! I know how we can have breakfast and also have time to go ask Vanitas about the bundles. I think he’s still at his shop. He said that he was working on something last night and I know him. He’s pretty much a night owl.” 

At Riku’s nod, Sora hurriedly ran into his shop to grab his wallet because this was still his turn to pay, even if their date now included a mystery. Momo stuck with him, and Sora giggled at the feeling of the bat’s claws digging into his hair. He wondered if he could eventually form the same bond with Potato. Maybe Momo would like a friend while he and Riku were out on dates. 

As soon as he emerged, Sora took Riku’s hand once more, enjoying the wave of comfort and contentment that washed over him. Riku tightened his grip, and Sora figured that he felt the same way. 

Having Riku around would be good for the hoyabella and the geraniums. And all the gillyflowers that were popular in the spring. Maybe he’d even help Sora with his spring garden. Starting with the right emotions from seed was always the best way to start off a floriography plant. 

When they reached Tiana’s Diner, Sora turned to Riku. “You trust me?” 

“With my food? Sure.” 

“Are you allergic to anything?” 

“No?” 

Sora grinned. “Have you ever eaten a crêpe before?” 

“...no?” 

Sora’s grin widened. “You’ll love them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings_  
Chamomile - Energy in Adversity  
Dianthus - common name "pinks" - Pure love/ make haste (Dianthus is just another name for pinks but they have different meanings. Both work in this situation though)  
withered leaves- Melancholy  
Enchanters' nightshade - Sorcery  
Witch Hazel - A spell  
White poppy - Sleep  
Royal Fern (Osmunda) - Sleep  
Hoyabella - Contentment  
Geraniums - Comfort  
Gillyflower - (meaning a wide range of fragrant flowers) bonds of affection


	7. Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh!! The big chapter!! I hope you guys like it ❤❤❤ Please enjoy!!

“You’re right. These are amazing.” 

“I told you!” Sora dug into his savory crêpe, filled with spinach, cheese, and eggs. Then he tore off a bit of the breading and raised it up to Momo’s mouth. Momo eagerly took it from his fingers. 

“Welp, you gave him food. Now he’s your friend for life.” Riku hid a smile behind his own crêpe, filled with tomatoes and mozzarella. 

“You mean he wasn’t my friend before?” Sora teased, raising another bit of crêpe to Momo. Riku’s Dream Eater partner had chosen his head to sit on as they walked with their breakfast in hand to Vanitas’s shop. 

Riku laughed. “True. I think he might like you more than me.” 

In response, Momo fluttered over to Riku’s shoulder instead, nuzzling his face against Riku’s. 

“You just want more food,” Riku muttered, but obligingly raised a bit of his own crêpe to Momo’s face. 

Sora grinned, glad that Momo had recovered from his skirmish. 

They finished their breakfast on the way to Vanitas’s shop, tossing the wrappers in a nearby trash can. 

Vanitas’s shop wasn’t that far from Sora’s, the dark building located on a street that seemed to be perpetually shaded, no matter the season. Vanitas had painted the building black with bright red trim around the windows and doors. But along the window frames and above the door were several floral motifs. Vanitas had taken inspiration from his hours quizzing Sora on floriography meanings and meticulously painted holly herb, barberry, mandrakes, and creeping cereus. 

Sora had thought they were rather fitting for Vanitas and had wanted to plant the actual flowers in front of the shop, but Vanitas didn’t think they would stay alive too long around him. He preferred the painted versions that would last. At least until he needed to revitalize their colors with new paint. 

Sora still thought that something could go in front of the window to provide a bit of cheer. He could find something that would grow in shade. Or maybe some—

But he was getting distracted. 

Sora checked the door, glad to find it still unlocked. “Hey, Va—” He stopped in the doorway, shocked.

“Sora what’s wr—” 

Riku paused as well, a sharp intake of breath his only audible response to the scene in front of them. 

Vanitas was crowded up against the sidewall of his shop, his hands tangled in silver-white hair, while his lips were captured by Rikuto’s. Both of Rikuto’s hands were placed on either side of Vanitas’s head, boxing him in, and Sora was surprised that Vanitas allowed it. 

Vanitas never liked being cornered or crowded, but he evidently didn’t mind Rikuto invading his space. Instead, Vanitas shifted one hand to encircle Rikuto’s waist, tugging. Obligingly, Rikuto stepped closer still, one hand coming off the wall to cup Vanitas’s face gently. 

And still, neither noticed Riku and Sora hovering in the door frame. 

Luckily, Momo had no qualms in breaking the awkwardness. He cried out excitedly and flew to a room deeper in the shop, and, distantly, Sora heard an answering ‘baa!’ 

Sora tilted his head. Was that a sheep? 

_ *Crash!*  _

Sora jerked his head back around to his brother. Vanitas and Repliku had flown apart when Momo screeched, Rikuto knocking into the table of premade curse-breaking spells behind him, sending the table crashing to the floor. Rikuto lost his balance and fell with it. 

“Sora?” Vanitas questioned, his voice a little high-pitched in shock. He let out a cough, turning to hide his red face. On the floor, Rikuto groaned as he sat up, rubbing his back where he had crashed into the table. 

“Uh... “ Sora still wasn’t sure what to say. 

Vanitas’s shock faded as he glanced from Sora to Riku, his gaze widening a bit again. “Oh… right. Twins.” 

“I  _ told  _ you…” Rikuto said, standing up from the floor. 

Sora raised an eyebrow, not sure what that was about, but he did notice that both Rikuto and Vanitas sported matching black eyes. 

Were they fighting? Before they were kissing?

“Well, I didn’t know back then,” Vanitas quipped, “But now I do…” 

Before Sora could process what was happening, Vanitas marched over to Riku, staring at him for a long moment. 

“Van—” Sora started to ask but was cut off when Vanitas abruptly turned around to face Rikuto with a smirk. 

“I  _ know  _ I got to kiss the better kissing brother.” 

Rikuto blushed but returned Vanitas’s smirk with one of his own. 

“Vanitas,” Sora groaned, “This isn’t a competition…” 

Vanitas ignored him to walk over to Rikuto, offering a hand to help him up off the floor, which Rikuto took. Sora noticed the way their hands lingered together, Vanitas’s fingers curling slightly around Rikuto’s. 

It might have been subtle, but Sora knew his brother. It was almost the same possessive movements Vanitas had made when they were younger, but softer and more gentle. And Sora knew that if they were in his shop right now the lilacs would have been straining towards the couple. 

“I feel like I wasn’t given a fair shot,” Riku muttered, distracting Sora from his thoughts. 

Sora turned his head, finding that Riku was also looking at the other two. Sora raised his hand to Riku’s cheek. Riku turned to look at him, and Sora leaned up on his tiptoes, Riku meeting him halfway in a soft kiss. 

As they pulled away. Riku leaned in to whisper in Sora’s ear, “Besides,  _ I  _ got the better kisser.” 

Sora chuckled, glad Riku wasn’t put off by Vanitas’s… unusual sense of manners. “I’m sorry. Vanitas has no filter or impulse control.” 

Riku hummed and pressed another kiss to Sora’s mouth before pulling away. “Anyway. We actually came here for another reason.”

“Oh yeah!” Sora reached into his pocket, pulling out the bundles. “Vani, what are these?” 

Vanitas glanced at the bundles of grey fabric and flowers in Sora’s hand, then quickly looked away, eyes shifting between Riku, Rikuto and the bundles. “They’re, uh… bad dream spells?” 

Instantly, Riku took a closer look at the bundle, then gazed up at Vanitas. “You mean a nightmare curse?” 

“Uh well… they’re, uh…” 

“They’re illegal to make and sell.” Rikuto looked at the bundles in Sora’s hand as well. “As a curse _breaker, _Vanitas, you should know that.” 

Sora looked up at Riku. “Illegal?”

Riku shrugged. “For the most part, nightmares are harmless. But if nightmares are caused by a curse, this can create bigger nightmares than usual. Those nightmares are no longer harmless. And too many of them in someone who already has strong nightmares…” he trailed meaningfully, and Sora was pretty sure he understood. If someone had cursed him with bad nightmares, it only worsened the nightmares he already had from the war. 

“Is that why the nightmares started to appear in the real world?” Sora asked.

Riku nodded. “Nightmares can occasionally cross over into the real world, but this was excessive. So… I’m guessing the curse had an amplifying component to it as well.” He raised an eyebrow at Vanitas who took a step backward. 

“I’ve never seen them made quite like that before,” Rikuto said, turning to look at Vanitas. “A custom curse? That’s pretty advanced.” 

Vanitas avoided all their stares, looking every inch a rabbit about to bolt. Sora let out a sigh, passing the bundle over to Riku to hold. He stepped closer to his brother, careful with his movements. He held his hands out, approaching slowly until he could reach and grab Vanitas’s. 

“How long have you been making nightmare curses under the table, Vanitas?” 

Vanitas avoided Sora’s gaze, but he gripped Sora’s hands tightly. “Not long. A couple of months?” 

“Why?”

Vanitas shrugged. “The person paid well… and with our birthday coming up. And the holidays…” 

When Vanitas trailed off, Sora let out a sigh, wrapping Vanitas up in a hug. “Oh, Van…” 

A heartbeat passed awkwardly before Sora felt Vanitas’s arms return the hug, clinging tightly. 

As Sora felt the tension in his brother’s body lessen, he heard the pair of brothers behind him conversing. 

“So…This is where you’ve been running off to after work?”

“Shut up.” 

“You said you were looking into a lead.” 

“I was!” Rikuto protested. “I was— uh, searching his shop.” 

“And did a thorough search of his mouth turn up anything?” 

“Will you let it go?” Rikuto huffed in obvious irritation. “I just—” 

“Uh, no. With all the crap you gave me about Sora, I’m  _ not _ letting this go.” 

Sora muffled his laughter in Vanitas’s shoulder, feeling Vanitas do the same into his own shirt. “They’re really something, huh?”

“Yeah.  _ Something _ .” Vanitas sighed into Sora’s shoulder, before pulling away. “Anyway. Where’d you find it? The bundle, I mean.” 

“Near my shop,” Sora answered. “In the alleyway next to it.” 

“When was the last time you sold one of these?” Riku asked, crossing his arms. 

“Um… late last night,” Vanitas frowned. “What do you mean that Sora found it outside his shop?” 

“The guy must have been waiting until this morning before trying to plant it…” Riku mused, “And when was the first time you sold one?” 

Vanitas’s frown deepened. “A couple of months ago…” 

Riku turned to Sora. “And when did your bad dreams start?” 

“Oh, well… I mean, I’ve always had bad dreams,” Sora rubbed the back of his head, turning to look at Riku. “But… I guess they started to get worse a few months ago?” 

“So then— Woah!” 

Sora turned at Rikuto’s cut-off shout, finding a few Floods popping out of Vanitas’s shadow, three of them already chasing each other around his brother’s feet. A fourth was currently trying to climb the wall. “Vanitas? What’s—” 

“Someone was using  _ my _ magic to curse  _ my _ brother?” 

Another Flood popped out, scuttering under the floorboards. All five Floods headed deeper into the shop, where Momo had disappeared off to earlier. 

“Yes,” Riku answered succinctly. 

“Any idea who it was?” Rikuto asked. “Vanitas, we can find him.” 

Vanitas gritted his teeth, his fist clenching as he shook his head harshly. “No. I… never really saw his face. He tried to keep it hidden most of the time. But he was pretty haughty. Kinda vain. I never asked questions. He… might have mentioned a girl?” 

Sora let out a quiet sigh. “Van—” 

“If I knew he was going to curse  _ you  _ I wouldn’t have done it!” Vanitas’s voice rose in anger, a Red Hot Chili emerging from his shadow as well. 

“You shouldn’t have done it anyway!” Sora shouted back, catching the Unversed before it could do too much damage to the shop. The Red Hot Chili squirming in his grasp, feeding off Sora’s own lingering irritation that Vanitas only felt remorse when the curse had affected someone he loved. He took a deep breath, both to calm himself and the Unversed. “You’re upset that the curse was used on me, but what if it had been used on someone else? What if it was used on the girl he mentioned? It still wouldn’t have been okay.” 

Vanitas glared at him, though no more Unversed popped out of his shadow, so Sora knew his words were reaching him.

Taking another deep breath to calm himself, Sora continued. “Vanitas… You know we like it better when you use your magic to break curses. Not cast them. You’re better than that. You’re fantastic at breaking curses and spells. Just… Please help us find this guy so he can’t turn to another curse maker and hurt someone else.” 

Vanitas stared at him for a long moment, gold eyes meeting Sora’s blue. Then he let out a sigh of his own. “Okay.” 

“How did he pay?” Riku interrupted quietly. “The guy, I mean. Was it with a card or something we can track?” 

Vanitas shook his head, taking the Red Hot Chili from Sora and holding it close. “No. it was always cash— wait.” 

Vanitas hurried over to his desk, pulling a stack of receipt duplicates off of their holder, flipping through them quickly. 

“The one time before last night. He didn’t have enough money for some reason. Mentioned… I dunno a new hunting license or something. So he had his lackey pay for it.” 

“Lackey?” Sora questioned, helping Vanitas pull another stack of duplicates off of the receipt spike when the first stack evidently didn’t reveal what Vanitas hoped. The Red Hot Chili faded as Vanitas focused on his task.

“Yeah, some short guy. I don’t know. You know me and faces and names. I can’t remember. But he only had his card on him so— here!” 

Vanitas held out a receipt to Rikuto who took it with a raised eyebrow. 

“One dream spell?” 

Vanitas avoided his gaze. “Well, it’s not a lie, exactly.” 

Rikuto hummed in acknowledgment. “I can’t make out the last name but the first: LaFou?” 

“What?” Sora leaned over the desk, catching a glimpse of the name. “No way! Him?” 

“You know him?” Riku asked. 

Sora nodded. “Yeah… he comes in once in a while looking for a bouquet he never gives to the guy he wants to give it to. He’s a little shy, bit skittish. But… harmless.” 

“Well, he wasn’t with the tall guy last night,” Vanitas said. “Maybe he got tired of being a lackey.” 

“Maybe…” Sora thought about it. When was the first time he had met LaFou? It was— “Wait! Was it that one guy?” He turned to Vanitas. “Remember that guy I told you guys about? The really rude one the narcissus loved?” 

Vanitas wrinkled his nose. “Ugh, no way. That guy?” 

“What guy?” Rikuto asked. 

“There was this guy a few months ago? He was looking for a bouquet to give to a girl he liked. I tried to suggest white camellias or calla lilies, but he hated those and kept suggesting things that were just… inappropriate.” Sora wrinkled his own nose. The flowers themselves had been alright on their own but together would send the worst kind of message. Dark red roses and baby’s breath? That was less a first date bouquet and more of a cliched “romance” bouquet. “Every rose he held practically wilted with a single touch. Whatever he was feeling for the girl wasn’t ‘love’ I sold him the bouquet just to get him out of my shop and stop affecting my flowers.”

Sora had felt terrible afterward, letting the flowers go with such a terrible person. He had hoped that the girl who received them would have enough love in her heart to revive the flowers. But now he wasn’t so sure. “Anyway. LaFou had been hanging out near the nightshade flowers while I dealt with the guy, and we got to chat later. I didn’t think they had come in together though. I mean, LaFou is kinda shy. This other guy is… overbearing.” 

“He sounds like a charmer.” Riku’s tone was harsh as if he was equally as irritated with the customer as Sora had been.

“Maybe it didn’t go well with the girl,” Rikuto wondered. “And he’s blaming you.” 

“That’s stupid!” Sora protested. “I can’t  _ force _ emotions, and neither can my flowers. They just… enhance emotions that are already there. If it’s gone badly, then something went bad with his attempt, not my—” 

“He’s an asshole, Sora.” Vanitas clasped Sora’s shoulder. “He’s just an asshole looking to blame everyone but himself.” 

It was still stupid. 

“Do you have a receipt for the flowers?” Rikuto asked. “We can pull records from the police. They’re just as eager to stop the Nightmares.” 

“Hopefully with these curses away from Sora’s shop, they will be lifted and the Nightmares will stop manifesting in the real world.” Riku pointed at the bundles still in Sora’s hand. 

“Yeah,” Vanitas took the bundles. “The curse should have faded on its own anyway. Nightmare curses aren’t usually this… physical.”

_ *Clang!*  _

Sora jumped at the sound coming from Vanitas’s back room. There was another crash, followed by Momo’s “cree!” and another quiet “baah!” 

“Momo?” 

“Valerian?” Rikuto asked, and Sora guessed that must have been the name of Rikuto’s dream eater. 

Momo flew out of the backroom first, a Flood clutched tightly in his claws as he carried it. 

Vanitas let out a quiet groan. “Were the Floods getting into the ingredients rack again?” 

Momo, of course, didn’t answer, but he did let go of the Flood when he flew over Vanitas’s head. Vanitas caught it easily, leveling it with a glare that had the Flood squirming. 

“Valerian? What do you have in your wool?” 

Sora looked over. “Ahh, he’s so cute!” 

Rikuto’s Dream Eater partner was a sheep-like creature. Rainbow horns rested comfortably against pure white wool, and it had a bright teal and purple underbelly. Valerian turned at Sora’s exclamation, letting out another quiet “baa”. 

Were all the dream eaters spirits this cute? Or did Riku and Rikuto just get lucky? 

Well, and Sora himself. Potato was the  _ cutest _ . 

“Yeah,  _ she  _ is,” Rikuto gently corrected, kneeling down to untangle one sleeping Flood from Valerian's wool. Another three napped on top of her, all cuddled together like a basket of kittens. “So… what are these little guys?” 

“They’re, uh…” Vanitas stumbled over his words, his face reddening. 

“They’re a bit of a long story,” Sora answered instead. “One I’m sure Vanitas would be glad to tell you later.” 

Vanitas nodded, though Sora noticed that his embarrassment seemed to lessen when Rikuto merely nodded in return, holding the sleeping Unversed close and petting it absently, exactly like what Sora, Roxas, or Ven would have done. 

“We can head back to your shop. See if you still have a receipt with his name on it.” 

“Yeah,” Sora nodded. “That would—” 

Suddenly, the door flew open, startling all of them. 

“Make me another curse, I lost the last—” 

The man in the door stopped in his tracks when he spotted all four of them. 

“Is that—” 

“Yep,” Sora answered before Riku finished his question. That was the rude customer. 

He had a handsome enough face, dark hair and light blue eyes, but his expression was marred by a constant sneer. 

“Gaston, you better hurry, Sora still hasn’t returned to the— oh…” 

Sora turned his attention to LaFou who quickly hid behind the door frame. 

Gaston recovered from his shock first, pointing a finger at Sora. “What are you doing here?” 

Sora opened his mouth but Vanitas gently pushed him out of the way. “He’s my brother. Better question, idiot: why are you cursing my brother?” 

Gaston scoffed. “I told you those curses were just for re—” 

“So you admit to purchasing illegal curses?” Rikuto questioned. 

Gritting his teeth, Gaston took a step back out the door just as Sora and Riku both took a step closer. He had to have realized he was caught. Riku and Rikuto may not have been law enforcement, but a quick call to Leon would have the matter wrapped up quickly. 

“He sold me faulty flowers,” Gaston finally spat. “Belle didn’t fall in love with me.” 

“I  _ told  _ you they were inappropriate for a first date,” Sora said. He couldn’t believe that Gaston cursed him over something like that. “And Floriography isn’t spell work. You can’t make people fall in love with you. That’s stupid! Why curse  _ me  _ over it? Why hold a grudge over it at all?” 

Though, thinking back to how the flowers in his shop reacted, Sora wasn’t all that surprised. Gaston really was the type to blame everyone but himself. 

Gaston growled in response, sounding like some kind of animal. He grabbed a table full of small spelled trinkets and flung it in Sora’s direction. Riku jerked him out of the way at the last second, and the table crashed into the countertop instead. 

In the commotion, Gaston and LaFou ran out the door and down the street. 

“Dammit!” Vanitas shouted, raising his fingers to his mouth and blowing out a piercing whistle. 

Instantly the Floods that had been dozing or relaxing in the shop perked up their heads, instantly on high alert. They dove beneath the ground and into the shadows. They slithered out of the shop door and down the shaded side of the street. 

Momo and Valerian also pursued the two men, Riku, Sora, Vanitas, and Rikuto on their heels. 

“They’re idiots for running on this side of the street,” Vanitas muttered, the shadows around him lengthening and darkening. Ahead of them, Gaston and LaFou began to stumble as the shadows around them melted into liquid darkness, pulling them in. Sora imagined that it must have been like running through mud. 

Valerian let out an angry bleat and suddenly started spinning head over tail. Sora almost thought that she had tripped over herself until he realized that she was aiming for the men. She crashed into LaFou, and he crashed to the ground. He let out a startled shout as three Floods stretched over him, effectively pinning him to the ground. 

Gaston was harder to pin down, the Floods wrapping around his legs to trip him up further. Momo screeched angrily, releasing another wave of energy that further confused the man. 

Another growl erupted from Gaston, this one even more animalistic than the last. 

“Uhh… Gaston?”

LaFou sounded scared and he struggled against the Floods, though less because he wanted to get away from Sora and his friends, and more because he wanted to get away from Gaston. 

“Gaston, you gotta calm down. Think of the war and the—” 

Gaston roared and there was no humanity left in the sound. 

“Gaston?” LaFou whimpered. 

Sora swallowed around a dry throat. He had seen this on the battlefield. Usually only when the Heartless overwhelmed one of his comrades. But he had heard of it happening spontaneously. The creation of a Heartless when one’s heart was consumed by darkness. 

“Vanitas! Take the shadows away from him!” Sora shouted, but Vanitas shook his head. 

“That’s not me anymore. He’s creating that darkness on his own.” 

“Can you do—” 

With another roar, the darkness swallowed Gaston completely, engulfing him in inky smoke that shifted and changed. 

Between one blink and the next, Gaston changed. No longer a man, he had grown horns and a face akin to a deer or a moose. The red cloak he wore became faded and tattered, darkness exuding from all around it. Now twice the size he had been before, his eyes glowed yellow, resembling twin flashlights on a face shrouded in darkness. 

“What happened?!” LaFou struggled to get away from Gaston’s Heartless. “What did you do to Gaston?” 

“We didn’t do anything, you idiot,” Vanitas said, pulling the man to his feet. “Go back to my shop and stay put. We’ll deal with you later.” 

LaFou shook but did as he was told, sprinting back to the shop and slamming the door behind him. 

The Heartless watched the man run away, then turned its gaze to the four men in front of it. They wouldn’t be able to keep its attention for long though. With all of the shops now opening up for the day, it would only be a matter of time before someone else caught its eye. 

The Heartless roared and tried to attack, raising a huge bear-like paw to swipe at them. Sora and Riku dove out of the way, Riku covering Sora with his body, shielding him from further attack. Sora heard Vanitas shout in pain, and when he managed to regain his sense to look, he found that both Vanitas and Rikuto had been knocked into the side of the buildings. 

Gaston’s Heartless let out another roar and made one lumbering step down the street where people had started to gather in shock. Rikuto managed to regain his senses and began to run towards the gathering crowd, telling them to get inside. 

With a screech, Momo attacked, diving in and scratching at the Heartless’s face. Valerian headbutted its knees. The creature stopped moving for a moment, distracted by the colorful Dream Eaters. 

But this was a Heartless, not a Nightmare. They wouldn’t be able to last long. 

Sora clenched his hand to stop himself from shaking at the sight. He hadn’t seen a Heartless this big since the war. 

What if—

A warmth covered his hand, and the tension melted away. Sora looked up at Riku’s face, full of worry and understanding. 

“We have to stop him before he hurts someone.” 

Sora hesitated for a moment. Riku was right. But if he did this— then— 

“I’ll stand by you.” 

The reassurance in Riku’s tone soaked into Sora’s very being. All of Riku’s support, compassion. 

Love.

All of it flowed into Sora, following a new but strong connection between them. 

Slowly, Sora nodded, then with more confidence. “Okay.” 

In his other hand, he summoned his keyblade. It no longer felt like a foreign object but as an extension of himself. 

He jumped up at Heartless’s face, smacking it with his keyblade. The Heartless growled and swung at him, but Sora dodged, flipping off its shoulder and landing on his feet. Summoning his magic, Sora lept and swung three times in quick succession, the third blow sending the creature reeling back. 

With a roar, the Heartless made to attack him again but was cut off by a Dark Firaga to the face. 

Sora gasped and looked behind him, finding Riku with his arm extended, the remains of a spell lingering around his hand. 

Riku smirked. “I told you. I’m standing by you.” 

Sora grinned back. “Thank you.” 

Running at full speed, Sora took another couple of swings at the creature. It was strong but slow. A blow would knock Sora out, but he was too fast for the Heartless to even land one. 

Even so, its strength meant that it wouldn’t tire as easily as Sora was going to. It had been months since he had moved like this. Though he had fought with his keyblade in his dreams every night, with no practice in the physical world, his body wasn’t used to the moves. They would drain him quickly if—

“Light!” 

Beams of physical sunlight surrounded the creature like the bars of a cage. The Heartless roared its disgust at the trap. 

“Wind!” 

The light breeze that had been dancing around them all morning picked up into a gale, further confusing the Heartless. 

Sora gasped and looked back. “Ven? Roxas? How—” 

“Vanitas called earlier,” Ven called. 

“Oh?” Sora glanced back at Vanitas who had regained his footing, focusing on lengthening the shadows at their feet to ensnare the Heartless. Sora turned back to Roxas. “When? Why did he call?” 

“He said he was worried about your guy friend…” Roxas said, before raising a hand again. Sora returned his attention to the Heartless. Roxas’s light pulled in tighter, securing it in place. 

“Wind!” Ven shouted again. 

A vortex of air swirled just a few steps ahead of Sora. He ran and leaped, the air propelling him up higher than he could jump. Sora swung around using the momentum to bring his keyblade down hard on the Heartless’s head just at the same time as another of Riku’s Dark Firaga bursts landed on its chest. 

It crashed into the ground where the shadows rose up to pin it further, Vanitas manipulating the darkness to bind and tighten, mixing with Roxas’s own cage of light. 

“Release the heart, Sora!” Roxas shouted, sweat pooling down his face as he focused on keeping his light magic in place. Ven was forcing a hurricane-strength wind straight down on the Heartless, but he couldn't keep it up forever. Even Vanitas breathed heavily, his shadows stretched to the limit. 

“But—!” Sora protested. 

“It’s okay,” Riku murmured quietly at his side. 

Sora took a deep breath and nodded once. Holding his keyblade out, he focused on releasing the heart from the darkness that surrounded it. 

A beam of light shot out of the end of his keyblade, hitting the Heartless dead-on. It roared in anguish before falling silent. The body began to fade away into the light and then… 

Sora couldn’t help the distressed sound that came out of his mouth at the sight of the heart floating away. He knew that sometimes they returned to their owners, but he wasn’t sure if— Gaston had turned into a Heartless on his own, what if—

With a cry, Momo flew up and caught the glowing heart in his claws. He struggled to bring it back down to earth, the heart wiggling to be let free, but he managed it, clutching tightly to keep it from flying away again.

“He’s not gonna get away that easily,” Rikuto muttered. “I’m sure Yen Sid can figure out how to put him back into his body. And then he can face his punishment for cursing Sora with nightmares.” 

“Oh,” Sora stared at the heart, feeling some tension in his own heart ease. “You can… put him back?” 

“We’re gonna try,” Riku murmured, wrapping an arm around Sora’s waist. When Sora turned to hug Riku back, his keyblade dissipating from his grasp, Riku wrapped his other arm around him, squeezing gently. “You did great, Sora.”

Sora pressed in tighter, listening to Riku’s heartbeat and, for once, believing the words when they were said. 

“So… you’re Mister Amazing Eyes then?” 

Sora groaned quietly at Ven’s voice. He didn’t want to deal with teasing right now. Instead, he nuzzled deeper into Riku’s shirt. Maybe Riku could just hide him from the world for a bit. It smelled nice and he could hear Riku’s heartbeat. He felt Riku chuckle softly and squeeze him tighter. Sora hummed contentedly at the feeling, smirking when he heard Ven sigh and knowing there was an eye-roll as well. 

“Sora, you can’t let your boyfriend hide you forever,” Roxas said, his voice much closer. 

“I can if I want!” Sora protested. He tilted his head up to look at Riku’s amused and fond expression. “You’ll let me, right?” 

“For as long as you want,” Riku replied, leaning down to catch Sora's lips in a brief kiss. “But I’m presuming these are more of your brothers, and I don’t want to seem rude.” 

Sora sighed, and finally shifted enough so that he wasn’t completely buried in Riku’s shirt. “Fine… Riku, this is Ven and Roxas.” He pointed to each brother in turn. “Roxas is the one with slightly angrier eyebrows.” 

“They’re not angry eyebrows!” Roxas argued. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Riku.” Ven held his hand out and Riku shook it briefly. 

“Likewise.” 

“See? I’m still invisible next to Riku.” Rikuto grumbled to Vanitas who was hovering nearby, both of them evidently not sure what to do now. 

Instantly, both Ven and Roxas turned to look at the other white-haired boy, then back at Riku. Ven walked over to Vanitas. “Don’t worry, I noticed. So, Vanitas, did you manage to clone Sora’s Mr. Amazing Eyes, or did you figure out that he might have been telling the truth about the twin thing?” 

Vanitas’s face reddened. “Shut up!”

“You totally thought Riku was cheating on Sora when you saw them last night!” Roxas said, “You were ready to beat his ass over it.” 

“He got a good shot in,” Rikuto said, rubbing at his eye which was still bruised. 

Vanitas rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, um. I guess I was wrong about that. I’m, um, sorry...” 

Sora remembered Vanitas’s sadness last night and suddenly realized what had gone wrong. Vanitas must have seen Sora and Riku through the shop window and thought Riku was Rikuto. And if Rikuto had been visiting Vanitas after work as well and possibly flirting… Sora quietly groaned. “Vanitas… you could have just asked.” 

“I know,” Vanitas grumbled, rubbing his own bruised eye. “I know…” 

Sora stared at his brother fondly for a moment, reaching out to draw him into another hug. Vanitas sighed against his shoulder but leaned into the embrace for a heartbeat or two before pulling away, giving Sora a small smile. Sora grinned back, before glancing back up at the heart still held in Rikuto’s hands. “You got Gaston, but I guess the police can come to pick up LaFou from Vanitas’s shop?” 

“Yeah,” Rikuto nodded, grabbing Vanitas’s hand. “I gotta take him in as well. As both a witness and to figure out how to go about the illegal curse thing.” 

Riku crossed his arms. “You should call the police about that, too.” 

“Yeah,” Vanitas murmured, “I guess they’ll want to take me in… I guess.” 

Rikuto turned to look at him, “C’mon, you’ll be fine. It’s your first offense and you helped us catch him.” He paused for a second. “This  _ was  _ your first offense, right?” 

“Yeah,” Vanitas nodded. 

“Good. You’re too cute to visit in prison,” Rikuto said, pulling on Vanitas’s hand. “If you’re good and give up the names of other nightmare curse suppliers, you might get a reward.” 

“Another kiss?” Vanitas asked. 

Rikuto’s face turned red and he looked away. “Don’t push your luck.” 

Everyone else laughed at Rikuto and Vanitas’s expense, the mood lightening considerably. Sora leaned into Riku’s side, his muscles relaxing when Riku’s arm tightened around his shoulders. 

Suddenly, Riku took a deep breath, hiding a yawn behind his hand. “Excuse me… I—” 

Sora frowned. “Oh, it’s past your bedtime, right?” 

Riku nodded, “Yeah, but I gotta go write a report about Gaston and LaFou and the nightmares and—” he yawned again, his eyes trying to blink away the exhaustion.

Laughing, Sora squeezed Riku’s hand. “You need sleep. Why don’t you just nap on my couch? It’s closer.” 

“Already taking him home after one date?” Vanitas teased, obviously eager to turn the attention back on Sora. 

Heat rushed to Sora’s face, but luckily neither Ven nor Roxas took the bait. 

“We’re still a bit more concerned about this illegal thing you were doing, Vanitas.” Ven crossed his arms, Roxas mirroring the gesture. 

Vanitas coughed nervously and looked back at Rikuto. “Take me away. Their punishment is going to be worse.” 

Rikuto chuckled and began to walk down the street, Vanitas and Gaston’s heart in tow, both of them heading back to Vanitas’s shop. “I’ll call the police about LaFou and take care of the report, Riku. You just let your boyfriend take care of you. I’ll see you tonight.” 

Rikuto's Dream Eater, Valerian, followed them down the street, followed by Ven and Roxas as well, evidently still wanting to know about Vanitas’s illegal activities. Momo flew back over to nestle into Riku’s hair once more. 

Sora waved goodbye before reaching out to take Riku’s hand, squeezing it gently. “My couch is really comfortable.” 

“Can I have a Sora-shaped teddy bear?” 

“I’ll see what I can do.” Though Sora knew he wouldn’t be able to resist that soft look in Riku’s eyes. 

Not that he wanted to, either. 

They returned to Sora’s shop quickly, and Sora added a line to his temporarily closed sign, explaining that he would be closed for the rest of the day. He hoped he wouldn’t have too many upset customers, but after the morning he'd had, he also wanted a long nap. 

He took Riku’s hand and led him up the stairs to his apartment. Momo immediately flew off, heading towards Sora’s bedroom and his favorite poppy plant. Sora smiled fondly at the little bat, then sat on the couch, patting the spot next to him. “C’mon.” 

Riku took the seat next to him, and after some rearranging, they found a comfortable spot to lie. Riku’s head rested on Sora’s chest, right over his heartbeat. His hands squeezed between Sora’s back and the couch cushions, holding Sora close. Their legs tangled together and Sora pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over them. 

Sora hummed absently, stroking his hand through Riku’s hair until he heard Riku’s soft snores. Only then did Sora close his own eyes and relax, looking forward to his dreams for the first time in a long time. 

He knew Riku would meet him there. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings_  
Mistletoe - I surmount all obstacles  
Holly Herb - Enchantment  
Barberry - Sharpness of Temper  
Mandrake - Horror  
Creeping Cereus - Horror/Modest Genius  
Lilac - First emotions of love  
Narcissus - Vanity/ Excessive Self love  
White Camellias - Excellence in Woman  
Calla Lilies - Magnificent Beauty  
Roses - Deep, deep love - the deeper the color, the more passionate  
baby's breath - everlasting love  
Valerian (Because of course I named Rikuto's Dream Eater after a flower as well ^_^) - An accommodating disposition 
> 
> And that's it :D At least until the epilogue which I'll post in the next couple of days! stay tuned though, as I do have plans for a sequel (because this world is way too fun to write and I couldn't leave it here!!)


	8. Epilogue: Michaelmas Daisies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The epilogue in which I give everyone a flower crown!

*Ding!*

“Welcome to Dreamtime Floral Arrangements!” Sora called out before he saw that it was his usual flower supplier. “Merryweather! Did you guys manage to get the—” 

“They’re all in here, Sora,” Merryweather said, passing over a stack of flower boxes and pointing to the one on top. “We did the best we could, but I’m not sure if they’re exactly what you want.” 

“If not, I’ll find another use for them. Thank you so much! Oh! And here are a few flower crowns for you and your sisters! There’s one for Aurora, too!” Sora passed over a few extra crowns that he had made for the celebration later today. 

“Oh thank you, Sora!” Merryweather took the offered crowns. “And yours looks lovely as well. And the new name is perfect for the shop!” 

Sora grinned. “Thanks. My boyfriend helped!” 

“I didn’t do anything,” Riku said, coming up behind Sora to wrap him up in a hug. “You figured it out all on your own.” 

Sora laughed, waving at Merryweather as she hopped back in her van to make her next delivery. 

Riku hummed, burying his face in Sora’s hair, dislodging Sora’s flower crown. Sora quickly caught it before it fell to the ground, absently adjusting it so the zinnias, wheat, and red chrysanthemums laid flat again.

Sighing one last time into Sora’s hair, Riku shifted, gently prying the crown out of Sora’s hands and placing it back on Sora’s head. “So what was all the excitement about? You’ve been waiting on this order all day.” 

Sora turned in Riku’s arms, reaching up to draw Riku into a soft kiss. “You’ll see! Help me put the other flowers away first though?” 

Riku’s gaze softened, and Sora’s heart skipped a beat. He was never going to get used to that look. “Of course.” 

They made quick work unpacking and fixing up the flower delivery, making sure the flowers had fresh water. Sora checked their Floriography well-being too. Luckily there weren’t many surprises, though he did have one particularly stubborn carnation that insisted it was coral when Sora was fairly sure was supposed to be pink. He promised that he would treat it like a coral though and gave it its own separate container. 

“What about this last one?” Riku asked, already clipping the strings holding the small box together. 

“Oh! Hang on!” Sora quickly placed his hands over the top of the box, grinning at Riku. “Close your eyes. Wait, let’s just—” He grabbed Riku’s hand and the box of flowers, pulling both closer to the shop window so they had the afternoon light filtering in. 

“Okay, now close your eyes!” Sora waited until he was sure Riku wasn’t trying to peek. Then he opened the box. 

They really were beautiful flowers. Delicate, and each and every single one a gorgeous teal blue. 

But was it the right blue?

Sora held one smaller bunch up so it just barely touched Riku’s face. “Okay. Open your eyes.” 

Riku did so, and Sora gasped in awe. 

The color was nearly perfect, just a shade too blue. But it would be a good starting point. And it would work for what he wanted today. 

“Hmm?” Riku turned to look at the flowers. “Those are pretty.” 

“They nearly match your eyes,” Sora said, pressing in close so Riku would wrap him up in a hug. “But not quite there yet. Which is only fair. Your eyes are unique to this world.” 

Riku laughed a full-bodied chuckle that Sora felt vibrate around him. “If you say so. Is that what you were so excited about?” 

Sora nodded. “They’re called jade flowers. I remembered them from the island closest to ours growing up. They’re pretty rare though, but I wanted to try growing them in the garden this spring. But for now, I just had to have some to add to your flower crown…” 

“Oh?” Riku still looked a little breathless from his laughter, his cheeks rosy and muscles relaxed. He reached on top of his own head and pulled the crown down. “This wasn’t enough for you?”

“Nope!” Sora gently snatched the crown and walked back to his desk. “You radiate so many things, there will never be enough flowers to deck you out with. But I can try.” 

Riku didn’t reply to that, but the look he gave Sora sent another wave of warmth and love through him. The dark red roses Sora kept on the front counter shivered and relaxed at the wave of love, each one looking a little perkier and a little deeper in color. 

Sora’s heart warmed a bit and he hummed, looking away, quickly arranging the new bunch of flowers with floral tape, reinforcing it with magic. “Anyway, the others will be here soon.” 

Riku nodded. “I just got a call from Rikuto. He and Vanitas just woke up, and Vanitas just has to check something with the shop before they come over.” 

Sora nodded absently, magicking one last preservation spell into the flowers, just to help them stay healthy throughout the evening. Then he held the crown out to Riku, motioning for him to kneel so Sora could place it properly. 

Riku’s eyes crinkled as he did so. “Tell me what they mean again?” 

Sora grinned. “The oak leaves are for strength, the daffodils are for chivalry, and the moonflowers mean ‘I dream of love’.” He placed the flower crown onto Riku’s head. 

“And the new ones?” Riku asked as he stood up. 

Sora faltered. “Oh, well… they don’t actually have a set meaning. They’re so rare, Floriographists haven’t really had a chance to explore their meaning yet. I mean they’re a type of vine, but intoxication doesn’t really fit them… and—” 

Riku wrapped Sora up in his arms again, leaning down so their foreheads pressed together, and the flowers on their crowns intermingled a bit. “What do you feel from them?” 

Reaching up, Sora gently pressed a finger to the flowers, tracing the delicate petals that hung just over Riku’s ears. They radiated back with a feeling that felt so familiar that Sora mistook it for his own. 

“‘The love I feel for you is not for words’,” Sora whispered. It was a long meaning, and a little vague, but it was true. Unique, once in a lifetime love. “That’s what they mean.” 

Turning his head, Riku gently kissed Sora’s fingers where they had been absently tracing over the flower petals. “Then, I’ll make sure they will never wilt. For the love I feel for you is truly indescribable.” 

Sora choked on his next breath, tears pricking at his eyes. 

How had he gotten so lucky? 

They gravitated towards each other in a chaste but passionate kiss, Riku’s hand framing Sora’s face, just holding it there while Sora’s hands drifted to Riku’s hair, careful not to dislodge the crown. 

“See, I told you they’d be kissing.” 

Sora pulled away, glancing over to where Rikuto and Vanitas just walked in. “Hey, guys! Everyone else should be here soon too! Grab your flower crowns!” 

Sora had meticulously made each one for the party to celebrate a year since opening his business. Sora had invited all his friends, family, and a few loyal customers, and had made each other a flower crown, carefully constructed with the person in mind. One year was a big deal!

His former Floriographist teacher couldn’t make it but had sent a card along with hundreds of seeds for his spring garden. They patiently waited by the back door for Riku and Sora to plant them. 

“Hey, Rikuto, help me with the appetizers.” 

Riku and Rikuto headed up the stairs to where Sora had placed the appetizers in the fridge earlier so they wouldn’t spoil. Rikuto sported a crown of buttercups and Tiger flowers that Riku had made him, carefully copying Sora’s technique. Vanitas helped Sora place name tags with the remaining crowns. Strawberry blossoms and yellow jasmine for Kairi, cornflowers and Forget-me-nots for Namine, and Xion’s had her favorite lilac and shion flowers. Sora wasn’t sure if he would be able to get Leon to wear his crown of black-eyed susans but he hoped he could convince him to wear it long enough for a photograph. 

“So, how’s community service going?” Sora asked quietly. 

Vanitas shrugged, his crown of red and white peonies shifting at the motion. “About as well as I could hope, I guess. Could have been worse.” 

Sora agreed. In the few months since the Gaston incident, Vanitas had been working with Rikuto and Yen Sid in locating other dealers of Nightmare curses on the black market to make sure that what happened with Sora’s nightmares couldn’t happen again. He was also completing his required community service hours at the hospital in the curses recovery unit. It often meant that Vanitas had to deal with people, which Sora knew he disliked, but maybe Vanitas didn’t hate it so much since it meant he also got to spend some time with Rikuto. He had even completely changed the hours his shop was open so he could be awake when Rikuto was. 

Riku, on the other hand, applied for a promotion at work, switching over to the Dream Weaving Daydream unit. Sora loved it, as it meant that the nights Riku stayed over, they could spend their evenings together without worrying about someone getting to work on time. 

“Did you ever get an answer from LaFou?” Vanitas held up the last flower crown full of gardenias. 

Sora shook his head. “No… I guess he’s still a bit ashamed.” 

“He should be,” Vanitas mumbled but placed the name tag with the crown anyway. “At least he testified against Gaston. Helped lock the bastard up for a while.” 

Sora sighed quietly but nodded. He had just been glad that, between Yen Sid and Eraqus’s powers as well as the research of a local professor, Ansem the Wise, Gaston’s heart had been reunited with his body. 

_ *Ding!*  _

Sora glanced up, waving at Ven and Roxas, and holding up crowns of zephyranthes and french willow, respectively. “Hey! Your crowns are over here! Can you help shift some of the tables?” 

Guests continued to arrive all night, and soon the celebration was in full swing. Sora spent most of the evening close to Riku, either holding his boyfriend’s hand or wrapped up in his arms. 

As night fell, and Sora grew sleepy, Potato and his new friend Juniper joined the party in a puff of smoke and magic. Sora’s heart nearly burst with joy, and he quickly threaded together a few crowns of potato blossoms and juniper berries for them. Potato wore his proudly, showing it off to Momo who wore a similar tiny crown of peach blossoms. Juniper was a little shyer, not yet used to so many people. Sora smiled at her gently, and petted the flower pattern on her side, her daisy-shaped tail wagging excitedly. “You’ll be okay. Just follow Potato’s lead.” 

Juniper yipped, reaching up to lick Sora’s fingers gently before wandering off to join Potato in the crowd. 

Sora chuckled, watching her go. She had surprised Riku and Sora one morning with her appearance as neither had created any new Dream Eaters in their dreams the previous night. But when Riku had taken her into work, Yen Sid mentioned that she must have been created from all the shared dreams that he and Sora had been having. 

Sora had just been ecstatic to have a new cuddle buddy around the house. Potato had been able to manifest for longer periods of time in the evening as Sora grew tired. Riku said that it was a sign that their bond was strengthening. 

“Time for cake!” Roxas exclaimed, he and Ven pulling out a cake from who knew where. Beside him, the tall man Roxas had introduced as “Lea” stood nearby. Sora didn’t know too much about the man, but the golden yellow fleur-de-lis in his hair seemed to appreciate his vibes just fine. 

Ven’s friends Aqua and Terra had joined them as well. If Sora got any more friends, they might have to find a new place to host the party next year. 

Ven and Roxas placed a chocolate and vanilla marble cake in front of Sora, one giant candle on top. 

“Make a wish,” Riku murmured.

Sora laughed. “You only do that on birthdays.” 

“Hmm… make one anyway.” Riku kissed his forehead, then stood back so Sora could think. 

Sora pondered on his wish. He had everything he wanted now. So, he supposed all he could wish for was…

Sora took a deep breath. 

I wish for more years like this one. 

Then he blew the candle out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Flower Meanings_ \- (There are a lot this time... oops 😂 I just really like flower crowns)  
Michaelmas Daisies - Afterthought/Farewell  
Zinnias - Thoughts of absent friends  
Wheat - Prosperity  
Red Chrysanthemums - Love  
Pink Carnations - mother-like love  
Coral Carnation - Admiration  
Dark Red Roses - Deep Love  
Oak leaves - Strength/Valor  
Daffodils - Chivalry/ New beginnings  
Moonflowers - I dream of love  
Jade Flowers - They really don't have a meaning that I could find... so I made one up... But they're really pretty...  
Buttercups - Childishness  
Tiger flowers - May Pride be my friend  
Strawberry blossoms - Foresight  
Yellow Jasmine grace and elegance  
Cornflowers - Constancy/Delicacy  
Forget-me-nots - Forget me not  
Lilac (Syringa) - Memory  
Shion - I won't forget you (Thank you 358 Manga)  
Black-Eyed Susans / Rudbeckia - Justice  
Red Peonies - Honor, Respect, Anger  
White Peonies - Bashfulness  
Gardenias - Peace  
Zephyranthes / Zephyr Flower - Expectations (Mostly chosen because Zephyr is god of the west wind...)  
French Willow - Bravery and Humanity  
Juniper - Protection  
Fleur-de-lis / Lily or Iris - Usually just means the symbol, but I'm working with that it's an actual flower in this context because it means "I burn" and if that's _not_ an Axel flower, _I don't know what is_
> 
> If you would like to see the flowers for Sora and Riku's crowns, I posted them on my Twitter: Here is Sora's and Here is Riku's! 
> 
> Thank you for sticking with this AU idea I had late at night almost six months ago now. It's been a joy to write. And, I'm not done (I hope). I do have an idea for a sequel that I hope to write this spring. But for now, I hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> Flower dictionaries I'm working with:
> 
> _A Victorian Flower Dictionary: The Language of Flowers Companion_ by Mandy Kirkby.  
_The Language and Sentiment of Flowers_ by James D. McCabe  
"Flower Meanings and Symbolism." FTD by Design blog post  
"Flower Meanings." by allflorists.co.uk  
"Flower Meanings." by albuquerqueflorist.com
> 
> Also, feel free to follow me on [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/Green_eggs101) where I post fic updates and generally yell about soriku and KH! ❤❤❤
> 
> Also, _please_ check out this amazing art by Faux: [ Here on Twitter! ](https://twitter.com/TheFauxsynder/status/1219296270587768832). It's so cute and amazing!!! 🌻🌺🌼🌷🌺🌹🌸


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